BEGIN:VCALENDAR
PRODID:-//eluceo/ical//2.0/EN
VERSION:2.0
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:0dd8dc9b65124a0ebe6303661b4944ad
DTSTAMP:20260404T062701Z
SUMMARY:suzanne-belperron - Date de vente : 08/12/2025
DESCRIPTION:Nom du lots : Suzanne Belperron\n\nDesigned as stylized fans\, 
 composed of carved rock crystal\, embellished with rose- and old mine-cut 
 diamonds\, with partial French workshop marks for Groëné et Darde\; 1933
 -1937.\n\nAccompanied by Certificate of Authenticity no. 251007s by Oliver
  Baroin dated October 7\, 2025 stating that Groëné et Darde manufactured
  the pieces between 1933 and 1937.\n\nPatricia Corbett\, Ward Landrigan an
 d Nico Landrigan\, Jewelry by Suzanne Belperron\, London\, 2015\, p. 41\, 
 for an illustration of these brooches.\n\nSylvie Raulet and Olivier Baroin
 \, Suzanne Belperron\, Lausanne\, 2011\, p. 219\, for a brooch of simila
 r design.\n\nMany of Suzanne Belperron’s most iconic creations feature t
 ransparent and translucent stone. She became renowned in the 1920s and ‘
 30s for her impressively-sized jewels incorporating massive yet ethereal c
 arved rock crystal and subtly colored chalcedony.  These can often seem 
 as striking and modern today as they were when they were first made. Belpe
 rron worked closely with the talented lapidary Adrien Louart\, who supplie
 d her with custom-carved rock crystal and chalcedony to create cuff-bracel
 ets\, rings\, brooches\, earclips and cufflinks. He developed a technique
  for setting gemstones directly into hardstones that allowed her to create
  novel combinations of materials. This collection includes ten jewels tha
 t feature carved rock crystal and chalcedony. Lots 42 and 53 are cuff bra
 celets carved from single pieces of stone\, one of two-tone chalcedony set
  with a large amethyst cabochon and one of rock crystal set with diamonds.
  Lots 60 and 62 combine fan-shaped rock crystal motifs with diamond acce
 nts. Two brooches\, lots 16 and 50\, employ angular rock crystal shapes w
 hile lot 15 has a stepped tubular form. Of particular note is lot 14\, a 
 simple clip of carved rock crystal that Suzanne Belperron chose to wear in
  her portrait by photographer Horst P. Horst (reproduced on page 11).\n\nL
 ocation courtesy of M. Olivier Baroin\, Image #3.\n\nForever Modern\n\nSuz
 anne Belperron\n\nSuzanne Belperron (1900-1983)\, née Vuillerme\, was bor
 n in the village of Saint-Claude in the French Jura region to a family wit
 h ties to the area’s lapidary and watchmaking industries. Shortly after
  her birth\, Suzanne’s father took a position in Bésançon and it was h
 ere\, at the age of 16\, she began her training in watchmaking and jewelry
  decoration at the Écoles Municipales de Musique et des Beaux-Arts. By t
 his time her father had passed away\, and it was therefore highly fortuito
 us that the school was not only free but open to female students. She show
 ed a natural facility for design and draftsmanship\, and her surviving des
 igns from this period exhibit hints of the sculptural and geometric qualit
 ies of her later work. In 1919 she moved to Paris where she was hired as 
 a designer by the jewelry firm René Boivin. Founded in 1893\, the compan
 y was a prominent and successful house known for its innovative designs an
 d cultured clientele. Upon René Boivin’s death in 1917\, his widow Jea
 nne\, the sister of famed fashion designer Paul Poiret\, took over as dire
 ctor and went on to lead the house through some of its most influential an
 d prosperous years.\n\nBelperron’s experience at the company was to have
  a profound impact upon her career. Madame Boivin served as the young des
 igner’s mentor as her style and position advanced within the firm\, elev
 ating her to the role of co-director in 1924. The house’s tendency to e
 schew advertising and its avoidance of adding signatures—instead relying
  upon word-of-mouth and loyalty to attract customers—are practices Belpe
 rron continued throughout her life. The Legacy of Elegance collection inc
 ludes two jewels created during Suzanne Belperron’s years at René Boivi
 n. Lots 15 and 16\, two carved rock crystal and diamond brooches made as 
 early as 1928\, are masterful examples of Belperron’s work that incorpor
 ate the volume\, geometry and translucency she would revisit throughout he
 r career.\n\nIn 1932 Suzanne left René Boivin and began a collaboration w
 ith noted gemstone and pearl dealer Bernard Herz. Belperron became the so
 le designer and director for the newly formed Maison Herz. The two opened 
 a private salon on Rue de Châteaudun that quickly began to attract discer
 ning and prominent clients. Groëné & Darde\, a jewelry workshop owned b
 y Maurice Groëné and Émile Darde with whom she had worked while at Ren
 é Boivin\, became her dedicated manufacturers. Belperron’s jewels beca
 me constant fixtures in the fashion press during the 1930s\, appearing fre
 quently in publications such as Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. Sometimes th
 e jewels were attributed to Maison Herz\, but she was often credited as th
 eir designer\, an unprecedented degree of recognition for a woman in the i
 ndustry at that time. Always extremely stylish and traveling in sophistic
 ated circles\, she sometimes appeared in the contemporary fashion press al
 ongside her creations. Her high-profile clients included some of the most
  celebrated figures of the era\, including Daisy Fellowes\, Mona Bismarck\
 , the Duke and Duchess of Windsor\, Ganna Walska\, Princess Agha Khan\, Ad
 ele Astaire and Diana Vreeland. Despite her prominence\, she continued to
  decline to sign her jewelry\, explaining\, “My style is my signature.
 ”\n\nThe year 1941 brought tragedy to the firm when it was confiscated b
 y the occupying Nazi government due to Bernard Herz’s Jewish origins. B
 elperron purchased the company herself\, with Herz’s assistance\, renami
 ng it Suzanne Belperron. In 1943\, to her horror\, Bernard Herz was depor
 ted to Auschwitz and killed. When Jean\, Bernard’s son\, was released f
 rom captivity in 1946\, she offered to return the company to the Herz fami
 ly. In appreciation of her stewardship throughout the war and her indispe
 nsable talent\, Jean offered her a partnership\, and the firm was renamed 
 Herz-Belperron. It continued to attract a loyal clientele in the post-war
  years\, adapting to changing styles. In 1963 Belperron was made a knight
  of the Legion of Honor for her contributions to French jewelry design and
  manufacturing. She decided to retire in 1975\, though she continued to w
 ork on occasional projects until her death in 1983.\n\nIn the late 1980s\,
  the heirs to the Maison Herz-Belperron sought a custodian who would prese
 rve Belperron’s legacy with the same integrity that characterized her ca
 reer. They approached Ward Landrigan—then owner of Verdura and formerly 
 head of Sotheby’s Jewelry Department in New York—who had gained intern
 ational recognition for his careful stewardship of the Verdura archives. 
 In 1999\, Landrigan acquired the rights to the Belperron brand as well as 
 an extensive archive of over 9\,300 gouache designs and tracings\, wax mod
 els\, molds and inventory books. These materials not only document her rem
 arkable career and act as a critical resource in authenticating her origin
 al creations\, but also serve as the creative foundation for each jewel pr
 oduced today. As the steward of the House of Belperron\, Nico Landrigan wo
 rks with collectors and museums authenticating the original work of Suzan
 ne Belperron. The company lives on in a beautiful salon located at 745 Fi
 fth Avenue in New York City\, modeled on Suzanne Belperron’s own Paris a
 partment.\n\nWhile other jewelry houses have produced jewels that fall in-
 and-out of fashion\, the designs of Suzanne Belperron never look dated. F
 or more than one hundred years\, her signature style has never lost its ed
 ge.
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251208
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR