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SUMMARY:suzanne-belperron - Date de vente : 08/12/2025
DESCRIPTION:Nom du lots : Suzanne Belperron\n\nThe carved rock crystal acce
 nted by bezel-set old European-cut diamonds\, internal circumference appro
 ximately 6 inches\; circa 1935.\n\nAccompanied by Certificate of Authentic
 ity no. 251007p by Oliver Baroin dated October 7\, 2025 stating that the p
 iece was manufactured circa 1935.\n\nSylvie Raulet and Olivier Baroin\, S
 uzanne Belperron\, Woodbridge\, 2011\, p. 60 for a pair of bracelets of i
 dentical design and p. 290 for a press cutting from the Vogue Beauty Book\
 , dated April 1936 from the personal archives of Suzanne Belperron showing
  a similar bracelet.\n\nPatricia Corbett\, Ward Landrigan and Nico Landrig
 an\, Jewelry by Suzanne Belperron\, London\, 2015\, p. 103 where this brac
 elet is illustrated and p. 99 for the ’natte’ bracelet executed in ros
 e quartz and rubies.\n\nMany of Suzanne Belperron’s most iconic creation
 s feature transparent and translucent stone. She became renowned in the 19
 20s and ‘30s for her impressively-sized jewels incorporating massive yet
  ethereal carved rock crystal and subtly colored chalcedony.  These can 
 often seem as striking and modern today as they were when they were first 
 made. Belperron worked closely with the talented lapidary Adrien Louart\, 
 who supplied her with custom-carved rock crystal and chalcedony to create 
 cuff-bracelets\, rings\, brooches\, earclips and cufflinks. He developed 
 a technique for setting gemstones directly into hardstones that allowed he
 r to create novel combinations of materials. This collection includes ten
  jewels that feature carved rock crystal and chalcedony. Lots 42 and 53 a
 re cuff bracelets carved from single pieces of stone\, one of two-tone cha
 lcedony set with a large amethyst cabochon and one of rock crystal set wit
 h diamonds. Lots 60 and 62 combine fan-shaped rock crystal motifs with d
 iamond accents. Two brooches\, lots 16 and 50\, employ angular rock cryst
 al shapes while 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 pag
 e 11).\n\nOne of the most consistent and striking features of Belperron je
 wels is their scale and volume. There was a general trend of geometric je
 welry becoming less delicate and more substantial as the 1920s turned into
  the 1930s\, but Belperron was very much in the vanguard of this\, designi
 ng her rotund “Bibendum” ring by 1919 before she began working for Ren
 é Boivin. Her work helped to popularize the large\, bulky jewelry that t
 he contemporary fashion press sometimes described as “barbaric” style.
  Her carved rock crystal and chalcedony creations exemplify this fashion\
 , but even gold wirework takes on a solid volumetric aspect. Lot 6\, a pa
 ir of gold and diamond cuffs designed to resemble the frilled paper someti
 mes used to decorate meat bones\, uses thin gold wires to form a volumetri
 c shape. Lot 7\, a crescent-shaped gold and cultured pearl brooch looks a
 lmost as though it has been inflated with air.\n\nLocation courtesy of M. 
 Olivier Baroin\, Image #5.\n\nForever Modern\n\nSuzanne Belperron\n\nSuzan
 ne Belperron (1900-1983)\, née Vuillerme\, was born in the village of Sai
 nt-Claude in the French Jura region to a family with ties to the area’s 
 lapidary and watchmaking industries. Shortly after her birth\, Suzanne’
 s father took a position in Bésançon and it was here\, at the age of 16\
 , she began her training in watchmaking and jewelry decoration at the Éco
 les Municipales de Musique et des Beaux-Arts. By this time her father had
  passed away\, and it was therefore highly fortuitous that the school was 
 not only free but open to female students. She showed a natural facility f
 or design and draftsmanship\, and her surviving designs from this period e
 xhibit hints of the sculptural and geometric qualities of her later work.
  In 1919 she moved to Paris where she was hired as a designer by the jewe
 lry firm René Boivin. Founded in 1893\, the company was a prominent and 
 successful house known for its innovative designs and cultured clientele.
  Upon René Boivin’s death in 1917\, his widow Jeanne\, the sister of f
 amed fashion designer Paul Poiret\, took over as director and went on to l
 ead the house through some of its most influential and prosperous years.\n
 \nBelperron’s experience at the company was to have a profound impact up
 on her career. Madame Boivin served as the young designer’s mentor as h
 er style and position advanced within the firm\, elevating her to the role
  of co-director in 1924. The house’s tendency to eschew advertising and
  its avoidance of adding signatures—instead relying upon word-of-mouth a
 nd loyalty to attract customers—are practices Belperron continued throug
 hout her life. The Legacy of Elegance collection includes two jewels crea
 ted during Suzanne Belperron’s years at René Boivin. Lots 15 and 16\, 
 two carved rock crystal and diamond brooches made as early as 1928\, are m
 asterful examples of Belperron’s work that incorporate the volume\, geom
 etry and translucency she would revisit throughout her career.\n\nIn 1932 
 Suzanne left René Boivin and began a collaboration with noted gemstone an
 d pearl dealer Bernard Herz. Belperron became the sole designer and direc
 tor for the newly formed Maison Herz. The two opened a private salon on Ru
 e de Châteaudun that quickly began to attract discerning and prominent cl
 ients. Groëné & Darde\, a jewelry workshop owned by Maurice Groëné an
 d Émile Darde with whom she had worked while at René Boivin\, became her
  dedicated manufacturers. Belperron’s jewels became constant fixtures i
 n the fashion press during the 1930s\, appearing frequently in publication
 s such as Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. Sometimes the jewels were attribut
 ed to Maison Herz\, but she was often credited as their designer\, an unpr
 ecedented degree of recognition for a woman in the industry at that time.
  Always extremely stylish and traveling in sophisticated circles\, she so
 metimes appeared in the contemporary fashion press alongside her creations
 . Her high-profile clients included some of the most celebrated figures o
 f the era\, including Daisy Fellowes\, Mona Bismarck\, the Duke and Duches
 s of Windsor\, Ganna Walska\, Princess Agha Khan\, Adele 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 br
 ought tragedy to the firm when it was confiscated by the occupying Nazi go
 vernment due to Bernard Herz’s Jewish origins. Belperron purchased the 
 company herself\, with Herz’s assistance\, renaming it Suzanne Belperron
 . In 1943\, to her horror\, Bernard Herz was deported to Auschwitz and ki
 lled. When Jean\, Bernard’s son\, was released from captivity in 1946\,
  she offered to return the company to the Herz family. In appreciation of
  her stewardship throughout the war and her indispensable talent\, Jean of
 fered her a partnership\, and the firm was renamed Herz-Belperron. It con
 tinued to attract a loyal clientele in the post-war years\, adapting to ch
 anging styles. In 1963 Belperron was made a knight of the Legion of Honor
  for her contributions to French jewelry design and manufacturing. She de
 cided to retire in 1975\, though she continued to work on occasional proje
 cts until her death in 1983.\n\nIn the late 1980s\, the heirs to the Maiso
 n Herz-Belperron sought a custodian who would preserve Belperron’s legac
 y with the same integrity that characterized her career. They approached W
 ard Landrigan—then owner of Verdura and formerly head of Sotheby’s Jew
 elry Department in New York—who had gained international recognition for
  his careful stewardship of the Verdura archives. In 1999\, Landrigan acq
 uired the rights to the Belperron brand as well as an extensive archive of
  over 9\,300 gouache designs and tracings\, wax models\, molds and invento
 ry books. These materials not only document her remarkable career and act 
 as a critical resource in authenticating her original creations\, but also
  serve as the creative foundation for each jewel produced today. As the st
 eward of the House of Belperron\, Nico Landrigan works with collectors an
 d museums authenticating the original work of Suzanne Belperron. The compa
 ny lives on in a beautiful salon located at 745 Fifth Avenue in New York 
 City\, modeled on Suzanne Belperron’s own Paris apartment.\n\nWhile othe
 r jewelry houses have produced jewels that fall in-and-out of fashion\, th
 e designs of Suzanne Belperron never look dated. For more than one hundre
 d years\, her signature style has never lost its edge.
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