Elsa Schiaparelli (1890 – 1973)
Pair of ‘cornucopia’ ear clips made of white metal, with Aurora Borealis stones,
1950s
signed Schiaparelli
Aurora Borealis stones were invented and patented by Swarovski in 1953. Both Schiaparelli and Dior attempted to acquire the stones exclusively for their fashion houses.
Fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli was a provocateur who took pleasure in challenging typical notions of dress and form. Witty, elegant and often strikingly surreal, her designs incorporate humour and surprise, inviting the viewer to look and look again. She worked within the confines of traditional tailoring but played with subversive details, extraordinary materials and the imagery of Surrealism to create unique fashion statements, many of which were designed in collaboration with the artists Salvador Dali and Jean Cocteau.
Schiaparelli's distinctive costume jewellery included a wide range of novelty designs. One of her most directly Surrealist designs was a 1938 Rhodoid (a newly developed clear plastic) necklace studded with coloured metallic insects by Clément giving the illusion that the bugs were crawling directly on the wearer's skin. During the 1930s her jewellery designs were produced by Schlumberger, Clemént and Jean-Pierre, who also made up designs for buttons and fasteners. Schlumberger's jewellery with its inventive combinations of precious and semi-precious stones proved successful, and at the end of the 1930s, he left to launch his jewellery business in New York, where he became Tiffany’s main designer. Schiaparelli also offered brooches by Alberto Giacometti, fur-lined metal cuffs by Méret Oppenheim, and pieces by Max Boinet, Lina Baretti, and the writer Elsa Triolet. Compared to her unusual couture 1930s pieces, 1940s and 1950s Schiaparelli jewellery tended to be more abstract or floral-themed.[54]
Schiaparelli’s jewelry in the 1930s showcased her penchant for bold material choices, such as glass stones, cabochons, dyed pearls, and iridescent seashells, often assembled in shapes and colors that had not been seen before.
About Vintage Costume Jewelry:
Costume jewelry– also known as Fashion Jewelry– was especially made popular in the mid-20th century. While their materials were less precious than real gold and diamonds, using glass stones, semi-precicious stones and lead and brass, many big fashion houses and designers produced highly complex pieces of jewelry that stand for craftmanship that today can only be found in so-called Haute Joaillerie. Most famously, Coco Chanel popularized the use of “faux jewelry”, bringing costume jewelry to life with gold and faux pearls. Chanel's designs drew from various historical styles, including Byzantine and Renaissance influences, often featuring crosses and intricate metalwork. Her collaboration with glassmakers, such as the Gripoix family (Maison Gripoix), introduced richly colored glass beads and simulated gemstones, which added depth to her creations without the high cost of traditional precious stones.
Elsa Schiaparelli– Chanel’s lifelong rival– brought surrealist influences into costume jewelry design, famously collaborating with Salvador Dalí and Jean Cocteau. She created the House of Schiaparelli in Paris in 1927, celebrating Surrealism and eccentric fashions. Her collections were famous for unconventional and artistic themes like the human body, insects, or trompe-l'œil, and for the use of bright colors like her "shocking pink". While Schiaparelli had to close her avant-garde business in the late 1950s and was forgotten for decades, her designs have recently been rediscovered and are celebrated for their bold design.
In many instances, high-end custome jewelry has achieved a "collectible" status and increased value over time. Today, there is a substantial secondary market for vintage fashion jewelry. The main collecting market is for 'signed pieces', which have the maker's mark, usually stamped on the reverse. Amongst the most sought after are Miriam Haskell, Sherman, Coro, Butler and Wilson, Crown Trifari, and Sphinx.
The term signed however is an invention that only reached European production in the late 1950s- when American buyers started to ask for authentification to distinguish high class designers from mass-produced pieces, while in Europe all costume jewelry had been issued by the fashion houses themselves and hence remained somewhat exclusive from the start.
Elsa Schiaparelli (1890 – 1973)
Pair of ‘cornucopia’ ear clips made of white metal, with Aurora Borealis stones,
1950s
signed Schiaparelli
Aurora Borealis stones were invented and patented by Swarovski in 1953. Both Schiaparelli and Dior attempted to acquire the stones exclusively for their fashion houses.
Fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli was a provocateur who took pleasure in challenging typical notions of dress and form. Witty, elegant and often strikingly surreal, her designs incorporate humour and surprise, inviting the viewer to look and look again. She worked within the confines of traditional tailoring but played with subversive details, extraordinary materials and the imagery of Surrealism to create unique fashion statements, many of which were designed in collaboration with the artists Salvador Dali and Jean Cocteau.
Schiaparelli's distinctive costume jewellery included a wide range of novelty designs. One of her most directly Surrealist designs was a 1938 Rhodoid (a newly developed clear plastic) necklace studded with coloured metallic insects by Clément giving the illusion that the bugs were crawling directly on the wearer's skin. During the 1930s her jewellery designs were produced by Schlumberger, Clemént and Jean-Pierre, who also made up designs for buttons and fasteners. Schlumberger's jewellery with its inventive combinations of precious and semi-precious stones proved successful, and at the end of the 1930s, he left to launch his jewellery business in New York, where he became Tiffany’s main designer. Schiaparelli also offered brooches by Alberto Giacometti, fur-lined metal cuffs by Méret Oppenheim, and pieces by Max Boinet, Lina Baretti, and the writer Elsa Triolet. Compared to her unusual couture 1930s pieces, 1940s and 1950s Schiaparelli jewellery tended to be more abstract or floral-themed.[54]
Schiaparelli’s jewelry in the 1930s showcased her penchant for bold material choices, such as glass stones, cabochons, dyed pearls, and iridescent seashells, often assembled in shapes and colors that had not been seen before.
About Vintage Costume Jewelry:
Costume jewelry– also known as Fashion Jewelry– was especially made popular in the mid-20th century. While their materials were less precious than real gold and diamonds, using glass stones, semi-precicious stones and lead and brass, many big fashion houses and designers produced highly complex pieces of jewelry that stand for craftmanship that today can only be found in so-called Haute Joaillerie. Most famously, Coco Chanel popularized the use of “faux jewelry”, bringing costume jewelry to life with gold and faux pearls. Chanel's designs drew from various historical styles, including Byzantine and Renaissance influences, often featuring crosses and intricate metalwork. Her collaboration with glassmakers, such as the Gripoix family (Maison Gripoix), introduced richly colored glass beads and simulated gemstones, which added depth to her creations without the high cost of traditional precious stones.
Elsa Schiaparelli– Chanel’s lifelong rival– brought surrealist influences into costume jewelry design, famously collaborating with Salvador Dalí and Jean Cocteau. She created the House of Schiaparelli in Paris in 1927, celebrating Surrealism and eccentric fashions. Her collections were famous for unconventional and artistic themes like the human body, insects, or trompe-l'œil, and for the use of bright colors like her "shocking pink". While Schiaparelli had to close her avant-garde business in the late 1950s and was forgotten for decades, her designs have recently been rediscovered and are celebrated for their bold design.
In many instances, high-end custome jewelry has achieved a "collectible" status and increased value over time. Today, there is a substantial secondary market for vintage fashion jewelry. The main collecting market is for 'signed pieces', which have the maker's mark, usually stamped on the reverse. Amongst the most sought after are Miriam Haskell, Sherman, Coro, Butler and Wilson, Crown Trifari, and Sphinx.
The term signed however is an invention that only reached European production in the late 1950s- when American buyers started to ask for authentification to distinguish high class designers from mass-produced pieces, while in Europe all costume jewelry had been issued by the fashion houses themselves and hence remained somewhat exclusive from the start.
