Jean Schlumberger and the Colors of Summer

Summer afternoons: a crisp linen tunic paired with the bright, colorful enamels and warm, sunny yellow gold of my favorite bracelets designed by Jean Schlumberger for Tiffany & Co.

Jean Schlumberger was born in Mulhouse, France in 1907. It was not until after WWII that he moved to New York and open a jewelry salon. In 1956 he became the first designer invited by Tiffany & Co. to stamp his own name on the designs that he created for the famed retailer. Jean Schlumberger is most known for his use of precious gem stones together with semi-precious stones to create interesting color juxtapositions in naturalistic forms. Mr. Schlumberger died in 1987, but his pieces are still offered by Tiffany & Co.

Tales from the Appraiser’s Desk: Artists Jewelry

Not too long ago a piece came across my desk with a story that I just had to share. The piece belonged to a client, with whom I have been working for years cataloging her collection for estate purposes, but it was not like her other jewelry. It was a piece of artist jewelry, eye-catching and well made, but clearly more avant guard in aesthetics than her other jewelry.

She presented to me an over size cuff bracelet composed of copper and brass, purchased at a flea market. With a twinkle in her eye she told the story of a Summer day in New York, falling in love with the bracelet and how at the end of a long day of back and forth dealing the bracelet went home with her for $10. The bracelet was signed and she asked me to do some research on her purchase, for fun if nothing else. The bracelet was signed by Art Smith.

Art Smith (1917-1982) was an American modern jewelry designer. He worked in New York, the village to be specific, and was influenced by Alexander Calder as you can see by Mr. Smith’s Galaxy Necklace circa 1962. The Brooklyn Museum just closed a retrospective of his work, but the catalog, “From the Village to Vogue: The Modern Jewelry of Art Smith” is still available.

My client fully enjoys her bracelet, but it is nice to know she could have a sizable return on her investment. Happy hunting!

Harry Winston: Extraordinary Diamonds

It is almost impossible for me to think of diamonds without thinking of Harry Winston. Harry Winston has owned many of the world’s most famous diamonds, including The Hope Diamond which was donated to the Smithsonian by Mr. Winston in 1958. He also had an amazing eye for fine jewelry design that featured the diamond.

Born in New York City in 1896, Harry Winston began working in the jewelry business at the age of 15. By the age of 24 he had opened the Premier Diamond Company, and in the early 1930s Harry Winston had begun to manufacturer jewelry under is own name. Mr. Winston was responsible for cutting of many famous, named diamonds including the Jonker, the Taylor-Burton and the Star of Sierra Leone. To many he is “The King of Diamonds”.

Harry Winston was one of the first designers to use fancy shape diamonds to create free flowing designs so popular in the 1950s and 60s, which I particularly love. As demonstrated through his love for large diamonds, his focus was on the stone. The diamonds in Winston jewelry seem to float in the air, using very fine layered (or jointed) mountings, as seen here in the classic “Cluster Earring”.

Mr. Winston died in 1978, but the Harry Winston retail tradition of exquisite diamonds and diamond jewelry has carried on.