home   previous exhibitions Masterpieces of American Jewellery

15 February - 12 June 2005

Flag Brooch, Cartier, New York, 1927, diamonds, sapphires, rubies, platinum. - Patriotic Flag, Tiffany & Co., New York, 1900, platinum, diamonds, rubies, sapphires, gold.

Masterpieces of American Jewellery is the first museum exhibition to focus exclusively on America’s jewellery heritage. The 200 pieces on show range from the late 18th century to the 1990s and were all designed, manufactured and distributed in the United States. Masterpieces of American Jewellery was the inaugural exhibition of The National Jewelry Institute (see footnote) and was first staged at The American Folk Art Museum, New York.

Masterpieces of American Jewellery highlights the creativity, craftsmanship and excellence of design found in American jewellery and explores five major themes: Americana, Nature, Humour, Pastimes and High Style.

Americana
Americana is exemplified by a brooch set with diamonds, sapphires and rubies depicting the American flag. Charles Tiffany, together with John Young, formed a jewellery business in 1837 and the ‘star spangled banner’ in the exhibition was made in New York in 1900 by Tiffany & Co., still a household name today. It is exquisitely made, the flag rippling in the wind with diamond tassels flying behind, while in 1927 the New York branch of Cartier made an elegant brooch with the flag stylised into the form of a bow-tie.

Nuts and Bolts Cufflinks, Paul Flato, New York, 1940, gold.

A number of pieces in the Americana section commemorate such great events as Wilbur Wright’s 1909 flight over New York, the 1939 New York World Fair and the suffragette movement.

America’s fascination with technology and its no-nonsense approach to life can be seen in a pair of gold cufflinks designed in 1940 as nuts and bolts by Paul Flato, the darling of the Hollywood and café society sets.

Nature
Inspired by exotic flora, American jewellers gave free rein to their imagination and this theme remains popular today.

left: Montana Sapphire Flower Brooch, Van Cleef & Arpels, New York, c.1950. right: Lily Flower Brooch, Marcus & Co., New York, 1930, rubies, diamonds, gold and enamel. - Orchid Brooch, Tiffany & Co, New York, 1889, diamonds, gold and enamel.

In 1889 Tiffany & Co. displayed 25 exceptional and botanically accurate diamond, enamel and gold brooches by Paulding Farnham at the Paris World Fair. All were sold by the second day, many to the railroad baron Jay Gould. Six of these breathtaking creations, each representing a different variety of orchid, are on view.

Marcus & Co. also created remarkable pieces such as the brooch of enamel and yellow gold of two irises which appear translucent when held up to the light, 1900, and an exquisite ruby, diamond, gold and enamel lily flower brooch, 1930. The Duchess of Windsor reinforced this passion for nature - when she wore a flower brooch, everyone wanted one.

Humour
American jewellery design has always had a witty streak. In the 1930s, Walt Disney went into partnership with Cartier to create a series of enamelled charm bracelets representing some of his animated characters.

Bunny Bangle, Daniel Brush, 1988-1992, bakelite, 24-carat gold, rubies, pink diamonds.

Another jeweller influenced by Disney was Raymond C. Yard. A group of his whimsical Bunny Pins made from diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds will be exhibited, each depicting a rabbit - fishing, dressed as a soldier, a waiter, as a bride, a yacht owner at his boat’s wheel and pretending to ride.

The bunny appears again with the Bunny Bangle created by the artist Daniel Brush. Exhibited at the Smithsonian Institute in 1987, the bangle is made of 1940s Bakelite and gold, surmounted by a rabbit’s head of pink diamonds and ruby eyes. While Donald Claflin of Tiffany looked to Lewis Carroll for inspiration for his walrus brooch of 1965 made of platinum, enamel, gold, diamond and ivory.

Necklace, Alexander Calder, 1950s, brass.

Major artists frequently design jewellery and an extraordinary example is the tiara and necklace made in brass, commissioned from Alexander Calder in the 1950s by Sir Kenneth (later Lord) Clark for his wife.

The jewelled sculptures of a stallion and mare were commissioned by the American heiress Barbara Hutton from the well-known animal sculptor Herbert Haseltine who completed this three-year project in 1949 and drew his inspiration from India. The gold horses’ heads and necks are carapaced with rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds and oriental pearls and stand 38.1 cm high on rock crystal bases.

Ballerina Brooch, Van Cleef & Arpels, New York, 1946, sapphires, diamonds, platinum.

Pastimes
Americans wanted jewellery that reflected their leisure interests, whether they were sporting activities (fishing, sailing, racing and hunting) or cultural (ballet). Claude Arpels’s friendship with the famous choreographer George Balanchine led Van Cleef & Arpels to create a series of exquisite jewelled, rose-cut diamond, platinum and gold ballerinas, inspired by the great dancer Anna Pavlova.

Crown of Thorns Brooch, Jean Schlumberger, 1947, morganite, diamonds, 18-carat gold. - Gold Cuffs, Van Cleef & Arpels, New York, 1970, 18-carat gold.

High Style
High society and Hollywood stars alike commissioned and wore stunning pieces of jewellery. Cole Porter commissioned Paul Flato in 1940 to make a dazzling aquamarine and ruby belt buckle necklace for his wife Linda while Joan Crawford favoured pieces by Raymond C. Yard such as her elegant 1935 diamond and platinum bracelet.

Major pieces by Tiffany, Marcus & Co., Cartier, Paul Flato, Van Cleef & Arpels and Harry Winston, dating from the turn of the century to the 1990s, will be on show. Amongst the most extraordinary is a Crown of Thorns brooch designed by Jean Schlumberger in 1947 for Millicent Rogers, the Standard Oil heiress, in morganite, diamonds and gold, and the gold cuffs made by Van Cleef & Arpels for Jackie Kennedy Onassis.

The two most recent pieces in the exhibition are a glittering blue butterfly of Montana sapphires, diamonds, silver and gold by Joel Arthur Rosenthal (JAR), circa 1987, and a Tahitian aubergine-coloured pearl necklace with a diamond and pearl clasp by Assael International from the 1990s.

This is the second major exhibition of jewellery to be staged at the Gilbert Collection, following Jewels of JAR two years ago which attracted some 50,000 visitors.

Blue Butterfly, Joel Arthur Rosenthal (JAR), c.1987, Montana sapphires, diamonds, silver and gold.

footnote
Masterpieces of American Jewellery is organised by the National Jewelry Institute, New York, and curated by the Institute's Vice Chairman, Ralph Esmerian. The lavishly illustrated catalogue by Judith Price, President of the National Jewelry Institute, is published by Running Press and priced £20.00.

The National Jewelry Institute was established in 2002 as a non-profit organisation whose mission is the preservation of and education about fine jewellery. It also fosters and supports the training of students studying the jewellery trade, including sponsored apprenticeships, in order to help them learn the exacting techniques of fine jewellery craftsmanship and to perpetuate the integrity of this important artistic tradition.

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