Download - Suzanne Belperron (Sample)

Suzanne BelperronSylvie Raulet

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VÉÇàxÇàáPreface 7

CHAPTER ONE: The Life of an Artist 10

CHAPTER TWO: ‘My Style is my Signature’ 52

CHAPTER THREE: Stones and their Combinations 122

CHAPTER FOUR: Themes and Influences 192

CHAPTER FIVE: A Prestigious Clientele 250

Early Drawings and Sketches of Suzanne Belperron 300

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Born in Thuringe in 1906, HorstBohrmann, who would later use hisfirst name as his surname, mixed withthe students of the Bauhaus during hisholidays in Weimar at the start of the1920s. After taking classes with thearchitect and theorist Walter Gropiusin Hamburg, Horst started, in 1929, asan assistant in the Parisianarchitecture agency Le Corbusier.

Quite by chance, he and Hoyningen-Huene, the darkroom magician, crossedpaths. Hoyningen-Huene used Horst asa model before enlisting him asassistant and it was whilst working withhim that he was introduced to studiolighting. In the spring of 1931, while onholiday in Paris, Dr Agha, the Americanartistic director of Vogue, gave Horst hischance, and he seized this opportunityto prove his talent. His first photo waspublished in the French edition of Voguein November 1931. The following year, acommentary full of praise in the NewYork Times about his first photography

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Page from Harper’s Bazaar in which a Belperronplastron necklace (opposite) is worn by a model.

Plastron necklace composed of blue saphiresand diamonds, mounted on grey gold and

platinum. Private Collection.

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great connoisseurs and collectors from all around the worldwhose bids are so high that her w ork is sold for record prices atinternational auctions.

When the Duchess of Windsor sold her impressive collection ofjewels, accessories and precious objects (Sotheby’s, Geneva, 2 and3 April 1987), among other Suzanne Belperron creations wa s asumptuous set of jewels, created in the 1930s. They included anecklace of two rows of chalcedony beads (decorated with a‘flower’ clasp of chalcedony in the heart and cabochon sapphires,set off with a string of bril liants); a pair of open bracelets (in theshape of crowns mounted on balls of chalcedony, each encrustedwith a cabochon sapphire and bril liants); a pair of earrings (in theshape of veined leaves in a slender line of bril liants); and a pair ofbrooches (decorated with ruby cabochons and brilliants). With anestimated value of 6000-8000 Swiss Francs, the necklace was

auctioned for 275,000 Swiss Francs. The pair of bracelets wasestimated between 3000 and 4000 Swiss Francs, then auctionedfor 220,000 Swiss Francs. A guide price of 8000-12000 SwissFrancs was given for the pair of earrings, which w ere auctionedfor 132,000 Swiss Francs. A wide bracelet, estimated between3000 and 5000 Swiss Francs, dating from the end of the 1930s, inthe shape of a tiara and made of cultured pearls of different sizesmounted on gold was auctioned for 66,000 Swiss Francs.

Chapter One – The life of an Artist

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Opposite: A set of jewels which belonged to the Duchess of Windsor: two open bracelets each composed of a large band ofblue chalcedony and diamonds, attached to which are beads of blue chalcedony decorated with cabochon saphires; a necklace

composed of two rows of blue chalcedony beads linked by a flower, at the centre of which are cabochon saphires anddiamonds; ‘leaf ’ earrings in blue chalcedony, diamonds and saphires. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.

Drawing by Suzanne Belperron for the je wels pictured to the left. As can be seen f rom this, the necklace was originallydesigned using the leaf shaped clips instead of the flower.

The Duchess of Windsor, accompanied by her husband, wearing the set of blue chalcedony jewels. Photo: Kirsch of Ottawa.


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