Steampunk Butterfly

I'm surprised it's the first time I've worn this pin since I started the blog, because it's a particularly good pin. Still, here it is at last.

I wear the Steampunk Butterfly when I need to strike a balance of analysis and synthesis, which was certainly the case at work today. I knew it wouldn't be enough to identify problems: I'd have to solve the bloody things too, or at least appear to be trying. I did the best I could, of course, but it's hard to say whether that was good enough. Time will tell, as it so often (ruthlessly) does.

This pin isn't made from clock parts, like the Clock Cow or Clock Bird, although all three share a somewhat mechanical look and feel: and it's not as purely decorative as the Butterfly. It's amazingly detailed though.

The steel wingtips are taken from some kind of measuring instrument, while the bronze head, wings and tail are very finely detailed, and anatomically correct. The copper heart (thorax) is stamped with "X"s on one side and "O"s on the other, which is a nice touch: and the centre 'tower' seems to be made from different sizes of brass washers, all held together with a steel pin. Thoroughly delightful: and anonymous, alas - there's no signature.