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Lot Essay
The enduring love affair between Van Cleef & Arpels and the art of dance dates to the 1920s, when Louis Arpels, an ardent patron of the arts, frequently attended performances at the Opéra Garnier alongside his nephew, Claude. Immersed in the elegance of ballet, they developed a deep appreciation for its expressive movement, which would later inspire one of the house’s most timeless motifs.
In the early 1940s, Van Cleef & Arpels introduced its first series of ballerina designs, shortly after the opening of its New York boutique in 1939. Beautiful ballerina brooches came to life through a collaboration between the Rubel Brothers of Rubel Frères, jewelers who had worked with the maison since 1915, and designer Maurice Duvalet, who studied the gestures and poise of classical ballet. Produced in the New York workshop, these earliest ballerina brooches translated the grace of ballet into miniature works of wearable art.
Each brooch captured a dancer in motion, typically featuring a face set with rose-cut diamonds and costumes adorned with brightly colored gemstones. No two examples were identical, and many were thought to draw inspiration from renowned dancers of the time such as Anna Pavlova and Marie-Anne de Cupis de Camargo.
These enchanting creations quickly gained popularity, beloved by some of the most stylish women of the period, including Marjorie Merriweather Post and Barbara Hutton. Around the same time, Claude Arpels developed a friendship with renowned choreographer George Balanchine, furthering the maison’s close ties to the world of dance. Such an interplay between dance and jewelry was further realized in 1967, when Balanchine premiered Jewels, a ballet performance reflecting the brilliance of various gemstones.
Although the production of ballerina brooches gradually declined by the 1960s, the motif has continued to reappear in later collections. Today, it remains one of the house’s most distinctive and sought-after designs. This particular pair of brooches, produced in 1951, were most recently featured in Set in Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels by Sarah Coffin and Suzy Menkes and included in the exhibition Set in Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in 2011.
In the early 1940s, Van Cleef & Arpels introduced its first series of ballerina designs, shortly after the opening of its New York boutique in 1939. Beautiful ballerina brooches came to life through a collaboration between the Rubel Brothers of Rubel Frères, jewelers who had worked with the maison since 1915, and designer Maurice Duvalet, who studied the gestures and poise of classical ballet. Produced in the New York workshop, these earliest ballerina brooches translated the grace of ballet into miniature works of wearable art.
Each brooch captured a dancer in motion, typically featuring a face set with rose-cut diamonds and costumes adorned with brightly colored gemstones. No two examples were identical, and many were thought to draw inspiration from renowned dancers of the time such as Anna Pavlova and Marie-Anne de Cupis de Camargo.
These enchanting creations quickly gained popularity, beloved by some of the most stylish women of the period, including Marjorie Merriweather Post and Barbara Hutton. Around the same time, Claude Arpels developed a friendship with renowned choreographer George Balanchine, furthering the maison’s close ties to the world of dance. Such an interplay between dance and jewelry was further realized in 1967, when Balanchine premiered Jewels, a ballet performance reflecting the brilliance of various gemstones.
Although the production of ballerina brooches gradually declined by the 1960s, the motif has continued to reappear in later collections. Today, it remains one of the house’s most distinctive and sought-after designs. This particular pair of brooches, produced in 1951, were most recently featured in Set in Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels by Sarah Coffin and Suzy Menkes and included in the exhibition Set in Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in 2011.