AN EXCEPTIONAL SUZANNE BELPERRON DIAMOND 'TUBE' BRACELET
AN EXCEPTIONAL SUZANNE BELPERRON DIAMOND 'TUBE' BRACELET
AN EXCEPTIONAL SUZANNE BELPERRON DIAMOND 'TUBE' BRACELET
AN EXCEPTIONAL SUZANNE BELPERRON DIAMOND 'TUBE' BRACELET
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Jewels as Art: Magnificent Jewels from a Private Collection
AN EXCEPTIONAL SUZANNE BELPERRON DIAMOND 'TUBE' BRACELET

Details
AN EXCEPTIONAL SUZANNE BELPERRON DIAMOND 'TUBE' BRACELET
Old and single-cut diamonds, platinum and 18k gray gold (French marks), circa 1948, unsigned, black Jean Herz Suzanne Belperron case

Olivier Baroin, 2018: Copy of Certificate of Authenticity

Size/Dimensions: measures as 19.7 cm (7 ¾ in), due to the design the bracelet wears between 15.3 to 15.9 cm (6 to 6 ¼ in)
Gross Weight: 107.1 grams
Provenance
Christie's, New York, 5 December 2018, Sale 16332, Lot 372
Literature
P. Corbett, W. Landrigan, N. Landrigan, Jewelry by Suzanne Belperron, Thames & Hudson, London, 2015, p. 19
S. Raulet, O. Baroin, Suzanne Belperron, Antique Collectors Club Ltd., Suffolk, Woodbridge, UK, 2011, p. 259
Sale Room Notice
Please note that the finial on the last link does not properly fit into its socket and may require additional care.

Brought to you by

Rahul Kadakia
Rahul Kadakia International Head of Jewellery

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Lot Essay

Elegant and audacious, Suzanne Belperron pioneered a new aesthetic in jewelry. While perhaps the most important female jeweler of the 20th century, her continued influence and presence has increasingly grown over the past few decades. Asked once why she never signed her work, Belperron replied, “My style is my signature.”

The 1930s were a period of creative and commercial success for Belperron as she worked with Bernard Herz under his company name. Her newfound artistic freedom allowed her to leave behind the rigid lines of Art Deco to invoke the delicacy of wings, petals, and fruit, carving these organic shapes from hardstone and adorning them with precious gems. She drew on motifs from a range of cultures – African, Cambodian, Celtic, Egyptian, Indian, Mayan – and created a daring new look in fine jewelry. Paris Vogue photographed Schiaparelli wearing Belperron’s creations in 1933, declaring them, “the new theme in jewels.”

World War II brought hardship and tragedy. In German-occupied Paris, Belperron re-registered the company under her own name to protect it from confiscation. While Bernard Herz had formally retired at the onset of war, he remained a target of the Nazi regime and was arrested twice, the second time along with Belperron in November 1942. While Belperron was released, Herz was sent to the internment camp, Drancy, in the northeast suburb of Paris. As he was over 65 years of age, he was sent to Auschwitz, where he was executed upon arrival.

Belperron took over Bernard Herz’s company, paying full price, in order to help preserve the firm until the end of World War II. Bernard’s son, Jean, a prisoner of war, was eventually released and Belperron offered him half of all company shares. To celebrate Bernard’s memory, the two formed a new partnership, Herz-Belperron and the present ‘Tube’ bracelet (Lot 74) was featured in an advertisement announcing their joint partnership in 1948.

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