As people plan vacations, I look at what interesting books are out that I can read over my summer. I periodically check Amazon to see what books are coming out. I have 5 picks for summer jewelry books that are coming out this summer or came out less than a month ago.
History is something I have always enjoyed learning about whether it is about a person, place or time period. I have read several books on Faberge and what I love about how people write about the master jeweler is all the techniques and details.
This offers explanations of jewelry terms. The book is geared toward
jewelry makers, students, scholars but for anyone interested in a more in depth
look at the methods and materials this is one to check out.
As a fan of tiaras and royal history (mostly British) this is a great introduction to one of the finest jewelry collections at a museum. This book looks at examples from the Victoria and Albert Museum. The contents are divided into three parts: materials, chronology of style, manufacturing and distribution. That last section is of interest to me, I love learning about the supply chain of an industry.
This is a topic I don’t know as much about. I admire the
designs of David Webb and Suzanne Belperron who were inspired by ancient gold
techniques. A background and history of the area that these treasures come from
would be a new world for me to explore.
Not everyone likes reference books all the time. This looked
like a fun summer read the first line of the description caught my eye, “Twelve-year-old
Aaron Broom is protecting his father’s car from repossession when he witnesses
a jewelry store robbery gone wrong.” It turns out the father of the boy is accused.
Aaron must seek out the real criminal by coming in contact with gangsters,
diamond deals and more to clear his dad’s name. The story is set in St. Louis
which is near my hometown so another bonus for that!
This book is put out in partnership with the Lecole des Arts Joailliers, place Vendôme in Paris. I blogged about my experience with the Lecole of Van Cleef & Arpels when they came to New York. The book looks at major design houses like Cartier, Boucheron, etc and the craftsmen behind this beautiful art. It is also under $20!
I saw this book at Christie’s for an event held around the time of the Spring auctions. The jewelry of Michelle Ong a Chinese designer was breath taking! To have Joel Rosenthal the creator of the famous JAR jewels is a good indication this is a designer to watch.
What did you think of my list? Are any of these summer jewelry books on your reading list? I know I can’t own them all, but I think I will start with the Art of the Jeweler! If you have suggestions, please comment below! If you are an author or distributing of any of these titles and would like to send me a copy email at data.inthe.rough@gmail.com ! Thank you and happy reading!
We will now conclude this series by looking at the 25 years leading up to the 20th century. In the colonial era, we saw jewelry that was available only to the wealthy as much of it had to be imported for lack of skilled labor and need. For the federal period, the innovation in machines created a bigger market for jewelry to be affordable for more people but we see goldsmiths start to grow in confidence about becoming jewelers. Then in the Mid-19th century the jewelry manufacturing start to decline as the people tire of mass produced jewels and jewelers start to grow their business by establishing jewelry stores that we know today. In the next 25 years, 1875-1900, there are major shifts in the jewelry industry. This is of course driven by the trends of the people and what the current climate is like.
Before we get into all the details and history a set of jewelry I saw at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The set was made in France with amazing enamel details from 1900.
Front view:
Back of the jewelry also enamel:
What was happening in this period?
Queen Victoria ends mourning 1887
100 years of America
United Press starts in 1880 to challenge monopolies
New wave of immigrants
Rise of millionaires ex. Carnegie, Rockefeller
Rise of the press
In keeping this post to a decent length, I will use a couple of examples to try and explain as much of this period affecting the jewelry industry in the late 19th century.
Let’s look at the beginning of this period at around 1876. The country is celebrating 100 years of independence. At this stage in the country’s history we have 2 groups; the established Americans who have a long family history of living in America and those newly immigrated to America. Around the time of the civil war there was an influx of immigrants coming to America. I had family that came to this country from Germany in the 1860s through Ellis Island. As many celebrated their American roots there was a renewed interest in the jewelry of their patriotic ancestors.
Weddings are considered a good time to wear beautiful jewelry either as a bride or as a guest but before the 1880s wedding jewelry was not that common among the public. That changed when the Press started covering society weddings. The trend of jewelry at weddings started with Queen Victoria and then the wealthy started to have wedding jewelry be more common. One wedding listed in Martha Gandy Fales, Jewelry in America book, is the wedding of Lilia Osgood Vanderbilt in 1881. The gifts from family and friends included:
Pearl and diamond necklace
Set of diamonds
Diamond and ruby ring
Diamond necklace
Diamond clasps to secure lace veil for bride’s silver satin wedding dress
Could you imagine receiving any of these gifts? That was not all. The groom after spending a small fortune on the ring was expected to give each of the bridesmaids a gift and the traditional gift was jewelry. What did the bridesmaids for the Vanderbilt wedding receive? There were four bridesmaids all nieces of the bride, they received a diamond pansy pin from the groom. Small gifts were also given to the attendants and ushers from the bride and groom. The rest of America was being exposed to all this wealth creating a need to copy these trends.
How did these events affect jewelry trends?
Increase in wedding jewelry
Emulating trends of the rich
Increase in imitation jewels
Revival jewelry started to trend because regular people wanted jewels they did not inherit p315
Increase in popularity of silver jewelry
Immigrants bring in jewelry design skills
New styles of jewelry art nouveau and arts and crafts popular to combat the industrial trend of jewelry
Not everyone was a Vanderbilt so imitation diamonds were getting more popular and not everyone had family that came over to America in the late 1700s so copies of antique jewelry were also in demand. Cameos and diamond necklaces, all the trends from the past were being made and sold to those that had no family jewels. This was not limited to ordinary strands of diamonds, a major trend in the earlier times for the country was the Greek, Roman, and Etruscan jewelry. The revival jewelry we see in museums today.
I saw several of these pieces at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. A few of my photos below:
Earrings by Italian designer Castellini, made around 1870-1880, using ancient technique of granulation
Enamel ring from the 19th century created in 16th century style
Gold and Amber Archeological Revial necklace from Italy made around 1880
Elizabethan Revival necklace in silver, gold, pearl, diamonds, emeralds, agate and glass made in England around 1890, cameo depicts Queen Elizabeth I
You think jewelry manufacturing would start to see a revival? That was not the case. I have included the chart from the last post and added more years and removed the jewelry only listings to focus on the trends for the last half of the century.
We see a slight dip in the Boston Jewelry, Watch and Plate listings in 1876 around the time people are looking to grow their own collection without all the money the wealthier Americans have. This remains unchanged for about 10 years. Then something new happens, the trend is more handmade materials. The over saturation of mass produced jewelry has Americans looking for more novel artistic jewelry and this is the beginning of the Arts & Crafts movement. As we get closer to 1900 the trend for more jewelers and a decline in manufacturers becomes clear.
What gemstones & materials were popular in jewelry at the time?
There were lots of new designs and ideas taking off. Art Nouveau was becoming popular. The Arts&Crafts was unique because it used more affordable materials like silver and semi-precious gemstones. Below are some pieces from the late 19th century that are from the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Arizona turquoise, demantoid garnets, and gold pendant, by Marcus and Co made between 1891-1902, New York
Gold, peridot, diamonds, pearls, and enamel brooch, by Marcus and Co in 1900, New York
Gold, plique-à-jour enamel, diamonds, pearl, and ruby pin, made by Riker Bros in 1900, New Jersey
Gold, diamond, and enamel pin, made by Tiffany & Co. in 1890, New York
Silver vest chain made by Unger Bros. in 1900, New Jersey
What was the role of the jeweler and jewelry store at the time?
Rise of artistic jeweler
Price war and low margin for manufacturer
Recession, fire, theft major hindrances to industry
Establishment of Jewelry League of NYC 1877
Wholesales business increase created greater need for reps/salesman
We established in the last post that jewelry stores are starting to come into their own and expand into viable businesses. Jewelry is trending and there were years that were very good but the jewelry industry did suffer from some setbacks. Two notable ones occurred in 1877 and 1882.
In New York City in 1877, on a night in early March a fire broke out at the Waltham building in the center of the New York Jewelry trade buildings. Firemen immediately were at the scene but were unable to save the valuable goods due to how they were stored. The jewelry was stored offices and stores with iron clad safes, doors and windows to protect the building from theft. The fire got so fierce that the building collapsed. The work then began to salvage the wreckage. One company assessed their damage and found that of the $275,000 worth of valuables only about $10,000 could be saved. Some lessons learned, better comparisons between brands of safes. Tests on how safes could handle damage were measured and shared for future purchases.
Other years that were notably bad for the jewelry industry were 1882, 1893, and 1897 due to combinations of recession, fire and theft. Some examples are a recession that happened in 1882. The Spring of 1882 saw a sharp decline in jewelry sales and many in the industry either lost their job or had to reduce the hours worked. Another problem at that time was a decrease in profit for the manufacturing industry. With the increase in competition the prices were lowered. To reduce costs for manufacturers better machinery and techniques were sought as well as using cheaper materials for the jewelry. Some of these attempts were successful but as you see in the present time cheaper materials is not always the best answer. The jewelry industry cannot wage price wars and still have the message of luxury product unique to the individual.
I covered a lot and still could go on for more posts but I hope you started to see the parallel themes from the past to the present. If you want to understand your industry and customers better, you must understand the environment around you and globally what is trending. Politics and those featured in society have a major effect on trends. America still gets inspiration from England and its royal family. Keeping up with what your neighbor has is still going to happen, just look at how people want the latest in technology. Don’t just follow what is happening in your industry, read business articles on retail trends and policies that can affect you customers. This is one of the best ways to keep up or be a head of your competition and if you are in the jewelry industry you need that advantage as I see this as one of the most saturated and fragmented industries to make it in.
If you enjoyed this series and are interested in looking at my take on the business of jewelry I encourage you to join my email list. I am looking to launch a newsletter soon with alerts and other insights from my blog. Please visit Data in the Rough soon for more articles and thank you for reading.
On to part 3 of this series, looking at the next 50 years of American history, we are now into the Jewelry Industry in the Mid-19th Century. There are a lot of changes going on and I’d like to highlight a few with two stories. Then look at some of the changes that occurred in the jewelry industry due to what was happening in the world.
Story #1: Farewell to two patriots
It is July 4, 1826 and the country is celebrating 50 years of freedom. John Adams, 90, a major player in the founding of the country and the second president to serve the country is on his deathbed. He served 1 term as president, he was into a more government approach to governing. Thomas Jefferson, a state’s rights advocated disagreed with President Adams policies and debated him fiercely on what he believed to be the better way to run the country. Jefferson was so passionate about the direction of the country that he ran for office in the next election, defeating Adams. Jefferson served 2 terms. This created a bitter rivalry that ended a few years after Jefferson left office. Adams took the initiative and reached out to renew their friendship.
As Adams time grew shorter he must have been thinking about his friendship with Jefferson and the role they played in the country because John Adams last words were, ‘Thomas Jefferson still survives’. Unfortunately, he was wrong 5 hours earlier at Monticello, Jefferson’s home in Virginia, Jefferson, 82, passed away. The end to an amazing chapter in American history.
Story #2: The Lady makes an entrance
Imagine an evening in July around 1841 at Boston, a ball is being held at Faneuil Hall. This is a very important ball as it is in honor of a prince. The trend for ladies was to adorn themselves with flowers as an accessory. One woman enters the ball dressed in a black velvet gown and adorned with only diamonds. This entrance made quite an impression on the press who reported about it many of the local reports. They recounted the event but added in her description that she was an unmarried woman.
What was happening in this period?
Deaths of Jefferson and Adams 7/4/1826
Increased productivity in manufacturing
1828-tariff on imported manufactured goods encourages American jewelers to import unmounted stones and design/set themselves
Queen Victoria takes throne 1837
Discovery of gold and silver (1859 more silver discovered in Nevada)
Death of Prince Albert 1861
American Civil War
Discovery in 1869 of diamond mines in S. Africa increase diamond supply, better diamond cutting methods
I think the best way to look at this period is to break it down into 2-time periods. The first 1825-1850, the death of Adams and Jefferson mark a change in the country as the old fades away and the new takes over. New fashions, new manufacturing facilities, more technology a few of the many changes driving the US economy. Some things don’t change as America still follows the British trends. Queen Victoria has taken the throne as a young woman, starting the trend of wearing flowers more fashion forward. Flowers like the ones at the beginning of my post were commonly worn at weddings, just as Victoria had done when she wed Prince Albert of Germany.
Then there is the second half, 1850-1875, the debate on government versus states’ rights is becoming more of a hot topic as well as the idea of slavery. The end of this period is marked by war and death. The civil war lasting about 4 years took a major toll on the country and trade. Prince Albert’s death also put the Queen in mourning so the outfits and accessories were very somber for this time.
How did these events affect jewelry trends?
Neo-classic designs more Greek focused
Floral jewels-romanticism
Mourning jewelry
Patents for better closures/sliders for necklaces
Enameling becomes popular
Increased demand in diamonds
New finishes for metal
As mentioned above mourning jewelry is still popular but with all the death there is some signs of being a bit more novel than just wearing the typical crosses or miniatures like I showed in the Federal Era post. Below is a picture of a mourning necklace made of French jet in the shape of stars. This was made around 1865-1875. French jet is a glass made so fine that it looks like genuine jet. Photos taken by me at Historic New England Eustis Estate, unless noted differently.
What gemstones & materials were popular in jewelry at the time?
Diamonds
Colored Gems-opals, garnets, amethysts, turquoise
Hair
Pearls
Tortoiseshell jewelry
Cameos in glass and ceramics
Lava
Coral
Mosaic
Quartz
Scottish Pebble
Jet
Berlin Iron Jewelry
Ivory
Oriental
Swiss enameled jewelry
Irish Bogwood
Gold and silver discovery of gold in Black hills
Malachite and Lapis
This is a long list and what the real message here is that it was a much more prosperous time. Not all these styles and materials were found/ made in the US. At this time, more traveling was going on. Below are some mosaic buttons bought between 1855-1865 in Rome.
A closer look at these luxuries! Could you imagine your coat having that much detail?
Another item bought in Rome between 1840-1860.
This shell cameo was carved by the artist Constantin R. Franz, depicting the goddess Venus. At the exhibit where I took these photos mentioned in the details was the idea of how this piece could be used. Wearing the goddess of beauty was to send a subtle message to those around of the wearer’s powers of attraction.
More examples of jewelry at the time:
Carved Ivory bracelet made between 1840-1860 carved in Germany
Side view of bracelet
Bog Oak brooch, 1850-1880, Ireland
What was the role of the jeweler and jewelry store at the time?
Portrait jewelry better with invention of camera
Jewelry stores become more established, Tiffany, Black Starr & Frost
Patents for better methods of delivering jewelry to masses: pearls, electroplating, manmade materials, closures
Increase in diamond demand
South & West jewelry industry starts to grow
Business is now picking up, even with the troubles that the Civil War would bring at the end of this period, jewelry was clearly an item on people’s list. To try and stand out from others in the industry, jewelry stores are now trying to build their brand. For Boston, a good example is the jewelry store Jones, Ball & Poor built in 1849. This was no ordinary store the architect was very talented and his design was to rival all existing jewelry stores at the time. The store had a wholesale and retail department. You entered from a different door depending on your interest, the ladies could enter from one door and not be disturbed by the wholesale business men.
Let’s imagine entering this store on the retail side. There were offices for bookkeepers and partners in a separate area and a workshop for engraving, repairing and setting stones downstairs. The store also had a bathing room to help in the health and appearance of the clerks. A safe is in the store and one is located downstairs. The downstairs safe was for clients who were going out of town and wanted a place to store their jewels and other valuables like silverware. As you walk in the store you see the ceilings and walls are painted with the interior in an Elizabethan style. You pass by cases and counters decorated in gold and white filled with jewelry that looked like it was a tale from Arabian Nights. You go up to the second floor to see a huge clock in the corner that has a golden American eagle winds out, in a pose that looks like it is guarding the clock. The store was also known for its watches and clocks. Can you imagine the treasures you’d find? Below are a few that I saw from that era and some from Skinner Auction House.
I wouldn’t forget the jewelry a brooch I saw in the Historic New England exhibit. A brooch from 1870.
The store has been renamed and has moved around Boston a few times. The current name is Shreve, Crump and Low.
So even though business is growing there are also divisions in the jewelry industry, specifically between jewelers and manufacturing jewelers.
I created a line graph from the Boston Almanac listings of the Jewelry and Jewelry Manufacturers. If you’d like to see the listings the link to the eBooks is here. Some were poorly copied so those were not counted. Also to note, some businesses have a listing in several spots. For example, there were some that were listed as both a Jewelry Manufacturer and in the Jewelry, Watches and Plate business. I included the double counting for this chart to illustrate my point. Some directories had a Watches category but I did not include them as I want to focus on jewelry.
Notice from 1842 until 1860 there are 3 categories Jewelry, Jewelry Manufacturing and Jewelry, Watches and Plate. Then we see that from 1865 on the category has dissolved into Jewelry, Watches and Plate. I suspect that many of these businesses were wanting to branch out and expand their offerings. At the start of 1842 the categories are all around the same amount but Jewelry, Watches, and Plate businesses really start to grow in numbers around 1867 and double in size to almost 120 listings in 1872. The growth in the Jewelry Manufacturing is nothing compared to this. So why the sudden change from lots of manufacturing to this new wave of jewelry businesses? Like many industries in America at the time there was one that focused on the craft not the machine. For the next installment and final post of this series we will look at the Arts & Crafts movement.
Welcome back for part 2 on my series about the jewelry industry in America. We will look at the 4 periods leading up to the 20th century to give us a better idea of what to look for in trends that are happening now that will affect the jewelry industry. If you missed the first part here is a link to see how I plan on laying out the post and what other eras we will look at.
America: home of the free
The colonists are tired of taxes and English rule. Fighting for and winning independence started a trend of patriotism with Americans living in the Federal Era of 1775-1825. Taxes on imports lowered and a new wave of ideas swept over the citizens. Influenced by great thinkers like Thomas Jefferson, there was a trend for Neo-classical taste. Everything from art to fashion reflected these tastes. A classic example of the trend in jewelry was a coral tiara worn by Mrs. John Quincy Adams. This painting is dated around 1816. Mrs. Adams wore this while living in London with her husband who was serving as United States Envoy Extraordinary (Minister to the Court of St. James). Photo courtesy of Dept. of State, Washington, DC.
Wearing the coral tiara above, below is a close-up of her coral tiara and an alternate jet tiara. Photo courteous of the Smithsonian Institute.
What was happening in this period?
America free from British rule
Wars (ex: War of 1812)
Reduced taxes on foreign goods
No organized currency
Innovation in manufacturing
How did these events affect jewelry trends?
Manufacturing in America leads to more local choices vs acquiring abroad
Lots of color in gems, diamonds still not super popular; topaz, amethyst and aquamarine top choices
Neo-classic tastes preferred, Rome trending in England and carried over to US
Jewelry created for state occasions, and diplomatic gifts
Watches easier to acquire
With a new government came new jewelry. Medals were created with a patriotic theme to be given as gifts to allies or for those in societies that had served the country. This feeling of newness inspired jewelry and clothes to model the Greek and roman era. Innovations in manufacturing the jewelry industry reaped the benefits of mass production. Cameos were one of several items that with mass production created a way for more people to afford the luxuries that were only afforded to the wealthy and titled.
There was a trend still for mourning jewelry. Below is a brooch I saw at the Historic New England Eustis Estate in Milton, Massachusetts.
This brooch was made in 1793. The person being remembered is Mehitable Livermore who passed away at age 29. Her initials are given (M.L. on the urn) with the inscription on the stone, Not lost but gone before. A beautiful sentiment for a life not fully lived and a way to help those left behind find some comfort in their loss.
Not sure of what she died from but I did a little research and found she was married with five children at the time of her death at age 28. She lived in New Hampshire her whole life. The brooch is made of enamel, gold, ivory and hair. Hair jewelry was still popular as well.
What gemstones & materials were popular in jewelry at the time?
Pearls
Topaz, amethyst, aquamarine
Diamonds and paste
Amber, coral, carnelian (used in roman jewels)
Jet and shell
New materials (Wedgewood-imitation cameos, steel, iron, brass)
Gold and silver
You saw the coral and jet tiara of Mrs. Adams above but another warm colored stone was carnelian. I saw this picture at the Eustis Estate.
This is Mrs. Harrison Gray Otis, painted in 1804 by Edward Greene Malbone in Boston. This Massachusetts native was said to be quite beautiful and a wonderful host. The necklace of pearls and a carnelian cross is the perfect example of the on-trend jewelry at the time. The exhibit had the cross strung with carnelian beads due to the previous owner’s preference but this cross seen below is the one in the portrait.
What was the role of the jeweler and jewelry store at the time?
Specialization occurs especially with manufacturing
Failure more common in jewelry industry
Few people buying due to wars and limited resources
Less taxes on foreign, non-British goods means more variety beginning of the modern jewelry store
More jewelers as Goldsmiths get more experience and start advertising as jewelers
With increase in specialization, jewelers can provide to other stores and clients outside their local community
For the jewelry industry, there is this energy of new ideas, new opportunities and an easier path to enter the jewelry business. The business outlook was good with more goldsmiths calling themselves jewelers and specializing in their trade making jewelry of their own. There was still demand for jewelry from England but now other countries could be imported and stores were soon filled with a variety of jewels. Then in the beginning of the 19th century the cracks in the government’s system widened creating problems for the jewelry industry.
Had the country been a bit more stable the opportunity to start a business may have had higher barriers, that could have saved many new to the jewelry industry the pain of failure. Several things were working against the jewelry industry in America at the time. Looking back at the what was happening at the time, no organized currency was detrimental to any business, not just jewelry. The Second United States Bank was not an institution until 1817 and still needed work that had them reorganize the system in 1819. Loans were liberally offered but many trying to make it in the jewelry industry failed near 1812 when the war broke out and supplies and customers were hard to come by.
What saved those few businesses that survived? Being very organized with their money and merchandise. Even though the taxes were changed by the new government there were still taxes on foreign goods. The government was trying to encourage more jewelers to produce their own goods, for jewelers relying on imports for their sales this created too much cost and crippled their profits, that was if the store could receive these goods with the blockades that occurred with the war. The bright side was the failed business gave way to the more established ones and the industry was on its way to creating some of the most iconic stores we know today. Next in the series is the Mid-19th century; what it was like, how it affected the trends and where it was taking the jewelry industry. Looking forward to you returning soon for more Data in the Rough!
Full disclosure I have been waiting for this book, Oscar Heyman The Jewelers’ Jeweler, to be released for almost 3 years. I follow JCK news frequently and on July 15, 2014. This story by Jennifer Heebner showed up.
I clicked on the link immediately! There was the editor detailing how this book about the over 100-year-old jewelry company was being worked on by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The main point I wanted to know was the release date, which was estimated around 2015 or 2016. Well that was pushed out, but I waited and waited. Then on February 3rd, 2017 I received an email from the Museum of Fine Arts about the book’s release on April 1st.
April 1, 2017, arrived and I called the MFA to confirm they had this book. The weather in Boston on April 1st was terrible with snow, wind and rain, a good joke for New Englanders’ thinking winter was behind them. Once I knew the book was ready to buy I made my journey, by public transportation no less, to the museum. Why go on the worst day when I could wait for a sunnier day the next? I wanted this book and the wait had been long enough. Amazon was even behind, not releasing it until the next week.
So what got me to this point? What is it that drew me to Oscar Heyman’s jewelry? It wasn’t the jewelry that got me curious about this company it was their reputation and their story.
The Beginnings
In 1901 the Heyman family sent two of their sons, Oscar and his older brother Nathan to train to be jewelers in the Ukraine. They were living in the Russian controlled area of Latvia at the time. These young apprentices manufactured jewelry and other objects for international clients and the House of Peter Carl Faberge. I had previously seen this reference to Faberge in literature about the Oscar Heyman & Brothers Company. This is what caught my eye and had me research and follow this firm for many years now.
I have written some about Faberge. He is one of my (if not my) favorite designer! My goal is to own a small item manufactured by Peter Carl Faberge’s company. It does not matter what it is, because whatever I buy will be of the best quality. That is what made Faberge’s company so wonderful every piece no matter the size or value had to be consistent in quality. Everyone that worked for him or represented his company had to meet his high standards.
From what I have seen and learned about the Oscar Heyman Company on my own and through this book is that they have several aspects of their company that parallel Faberge’s. One being their craftsmanship and the second, relationships.
Craftsmanship
I see a lot of jewelry at auctions, stores, designer open houses, etc. and the over used phrase of, ‘That is so beautiful!’, is frequently heard at these events. But there must be more than beauty to make a piece of jewelry be looked at as an object of art and desire. The jewelry needs a soul.
A story I have highlighting the character of an Oscar Heyman piece, is from a Christie’s online auction preview I went to last year. I was going through the cases, starting at one end and working around, when I heard a Christie employee telling a woman that was trying on jewelry from the case about an Oscar Heyman ring that she identified. I tried to move inconspicuously towards the two. The woman telling the story continued telling how Christie’s received a group of jewelry to be cataloged for this auction and as she was going through the jewelry, a ring stood out to her as being something that looked like it was by Oscar Heyman. There was no stamp of the designer but the worker wanted to just see if it might be one of theirs. Pictures and details of the piece were sent to the Heyman office and sure enough Christie’s was contacted and told the ring was in the Heyman archives! Making it a total of three Oscar Heyman rings being offered at this auction! The woman trying on jewelry was no longer looking at the piece she was currently trying on but taking in this fun story of discovery. She quickly asked if the piece she had on was the ring. Her ring was of a gold alligator that wrapped around her figure, most likely a Kieselstein-Cord ring, definitely not an Oscar Heyman, the Christie’s worker confirmed that. What was the ring you ask? Well the other onlooker wondered if she had picked it but did not ask about seeing the actual ring. I looked in the case and saw three rings with a similar design, a large stone with smaller stones around it. One stood out and I had a feeling that was the ring. So I asked to see the Oscar Heyman ring and the employee picked the one I had my eye on! A yellow diamond in the center with smaller alternating yellow and white diamonds around it. What stood out to me? The setting. The stones were layered and seemed to sit a little higher than the other similarly designed rings. Picture below:
So that was one down. I spotted the second one, a ruby that was in a case by itself.
Had to try it on!
The third one I had to ask. This sapphire and diamond ring was in another case, two out of three is not bad!
Not every quality piece I have seen is from Oscar Heyman, but every Oscar Heyman is a quality piece.
Relationships
Another aspect that the book touches on is relationships the company has with their employees and retailers.
Company loyalty can be hard to find. Even when you do find a stable job the conditions can be hard to be happy in. So, it was refreshing to hear a story about how the Oscar Heyman employees handled the 25th anniversary of the company. Oscar Heyman and his brother came over to America in 1906 and founded their company in 1912. The 25th anniversary took place in 1937, a time when the country was struggling with troubling economic hardships. The day was to be like any other but the employees wanted to mark the occasion. For the silver anniversary, the employees worked in secret for fourteen months to complete a clock to present to their employers. Picture below found from post by Couture Musings:
Around the globe are the letters O. Heyman & Bros each character marking an hour. The figure on the right is to represent a workbench jeweler. The figure on the left is the god Mercury, that represents commerce and financial gain. At the silver base are the names of all the current employees for that time. It was touching to read that story and to think how much those employees must have loved working for the company to do all this!
Faberge ran a workshop that also cared for their workers. The workers had good wages, excellent working facilities and even had the opportunity to manage small businesses within the company. Many pieces not only have the stamp of Faberge but the maker in charge of that object. It gave a sense of pride and ownership to the workers. Rare for a company to be so invested in their workers.
The retailers also had favorable comments about Oscar Heyman. Mr. Heyman passed away in 1970, the book notes that one retailer recalled during the Depression how Mr. Heyman granted his clients with the option of credit and the opportunity to sell the jewelry on consignment. This helped many businesses stay open as paying for those high-end pieces would have crippled their cash flow significantly, causing them to possibly go out of business.
These businesses were not just a few retailers Oscar Heyman’s business model is selling to stores not to consumers. Black, Starr & Frost, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels to name a few had Oscar Heyman & Bros manufacture jewelry to sell under their stores name. When going to auctions you can still find pieces marked as one retailer but were created by the Heyman Company.
Below is a bracelet that was clearly marked in the Sotheby’s catalog as being from Black, Starr & Frost but on Instagram Heyman shared it as one of the pieces they manufactured. In the book a similar bracelet is pictured and credited as Oscar Heyman. Details of this amazing piece at auction are taken by me below.
Looking Forward
The book spends its time focusing on Oscar Heyman’s business from 1912-1970. Ending their story with the passing away of Oscar Heyman on July 13, 1970. A few paragraphs mark the centennial that the company celebrated 5 years ago but the focus on the book is the company through the years.
I genuinely enjoyed the book. I was a little concerned when I saw the page count, worrying it would be all photos and no real story, like a coffee table book. It would have been the easy way to make this book. The thought of picking from hundreds of thousands of jewelry photos seems difficult but how could you go wrong with picking any piece, especially with all the rich history? This book was to show and explain why Oscar Heyman is the Jewelers’ Jeweler. This isn’t a title they claimed for themselves like a marketing campaign. The title has been given to them by the employees, retailers and customers who have been a part of their story. I look forward to continuing to see their jewelry at auctions, in stores and on social media for a new audience to appreciate.
Links to buy the book from Amazon are here or from the Museum of Fine Arts Boston click here
I was going to post this earlier but the politics got so ugly I wanted to wait until the dust settled. With the inauguration this week a question I have is what jewelry will the first lady and the daughters of the President wear? I’m sure that and so much more will be analyzed over the next four years. Some of those small choices are not given much thought but for one former White House employee there was a distinct correlation between her pin choice and her mood.
Bejeweled Mickey pin owned by Madeleine Albright, made 1989, Disney
I posted on Instagram art from the all-night event at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston a few months ago. I was unable to attend the special evening events but Madeleine Albright spoke to a group of museum attendees. Some Instagram attendees shared selfies with the former Secretary of State , I’m not posting those but will share a photo of the pin Albright was wearing. I had seen it in a book I read a few years back, Read my Pins: Stories from a Diplomat’s Jewel Box by Madeleine Albright. The pin is titled Breaking the Glass Ceiling, by an unknown artist.
Albright had a second pin on with the candidate she is supporting. I won’t mention that either since it only takes one guess knowing which president she served under. So, no more election talk on to the jewels.
The book is a fun read about a collector that happened to serve in a high government office but Ms. Albright’s history of collecting did not start when she got the job of secretary of state, but earlier at age 8. She was the daughter of an ambassador to Yugoslavia on a visit Madeleine’s mother was given an emerald ring surrounded by diamonds. That memory stayed with Madeleine and when she was old enough she was given that ring. The love of pins came from her college days when it was fashionable to wear pins with sweaters. Also in college, the tradition of getting pinned by your boyfriend was to be engaged. Madeleine was pinned by Joseph Albright, they had 3 children. Madeleine was still gifted pins by friends and relatives. Some antique and a few homemade. Below is a pin of beads on safety pin, common at craft fairs and similar to the one owned by Ms. Albright.
She had high end brooches as well like these two from Cartier.
Panther pin, Cartier owned by Madeleine Albright
Coral, Lapis Bird in Cage, Cartier made in 1944
How did her trademark pin wearing get started? The story is shared by Albright and starts with a snake. See below.
The Serpent’s Tale
The book goes through some of Albright’s family moments where she worn and acquired her pins but I am skipping ahead to her days in Washington where her collection got a lot more attention.
The major start to kicking off her jewelry collection in the White House was during Bill Clinton’s first term as President of the United States (1993-1997). To set the scene, Ambassador Albright was coming in after the first Persian Gulf War and Iraq was required to accept the UN inspections and disclose about all their weapons programs. Saddam Hussein, the Iraq leader at the time, would not comply causing Albright to publicly criticize him. A poem was printed by the Iraq press in retaliation to Albrights behavior. I won’t reprint the poem but use the phrase that caused the start of her pin phase. In the poem the poet referred to Ambassador Albright as an ‘unparalleled serpent’, among other unflattering things. So when Iraq officials were scheduled to meet with her again she need to find the right item to make a statement. This coiled snake pin by an unknown designer was bought a few years back. The reason was unknown to Albright who mentioned in the book to ‘loathe’ snakes. It was perfect though and the press loved it. Albright was sending a message in her own way to the world. This soon became her trademark and still continues to this day.
Albright wearing serpent pin with her ‘don’t mess with me’ face!
Albright has many more pins and stories in this book that could be finished in an evening. A few more from her collection.
Bug Pin by Iradj Moini
Lady Liberty clock pin by Gijis Bakker of the Netherlands
Are there any pins you wear to work or wear on your coat for going out? I brought some that belonged to my grandmother that can take a commute to work or errands on the weekend! Thank you for reading and check back for more!
Marie Antoinette has been described as a beautiful, witty, wasteful, out of touch, the list can go but in How to Ruin a Queen by Jonathan Beckman, he describes a view of the Queen I never saw her as, clueless. Beckman details and pieces together the history of Marie Antoinette and the Diamond Necklace Affair as though you are part of the jury. He presents the different angles of the story that seem like unrelated events but combined created an unbelievable domino effect that lead to the end of the French monarchy. There were three key parts that created this incredible story. The first transports you to 18th century France where you learn about a little girl named Jeanne whose father was the illegitimate son of priapic Henri II. Henri II was a king who ruled France from 1547 to 1559. The family lost their right to reign in 1562 and the France was filled with uncertain times as the War of Religions took over the country.
Thankfully the family did not try and put Jeanne’s father in power, he was lazy and squandered his money. He married a beautiful maid that worked at his family’s home when she became pregnant. This woman was Jeanne’s mother and wanted to live an entitled life. This was not to be the family was broke and Jeanne and her siblings spent their early life begging and being beat by their mother. Jeanne’s father died and not long after Jeanne’s mother left her children, Jeanne age 6, to fend on their own.
Jeanne found a couple with children who took Jeanne and her younger sister in. The family tried to teach Jeanne a trade so she could make a modest living but that did not satisfy the wants of a girl who remembered her father’s tales of being a descendant of a King of France. Jeanne thought marriage would be a good escape except she got pregnant by a man with no fortune and little promise of moving up in his situation. The children died at birth and Jeanne was left with a husband she did not care for or would provide her the lifestyle she wanted. Both her and her spouse spent money quicker than they could make it and were always in debt to someone.
It did not seem that their future held any promise of living with little care of money.
The second part was Cardinal Rohan; he had come from a long line of family members whom had held high offices in the Royal Court. The role of Bishop for the French Court was the job Rohan was striving for. His downfall was he loved the excitement of court and got caught up in the gossip. He was working in the Austrian court when he overstepped his bounds and spoke rudely of Empress Maria Theresa. Her daughter, Marie Antoinette never forgot the slight and embarrassment to her mother. She held a grudge against Rohan from then on. That episode occurred around 1772.
The third part, the makers of the necklace. Louis the XV, Louis the XIV’s (the Sun King) son, wanted to have a special gift made for his long-time mistress Madame du Barry. Louis XV wanted Boehmer and Bassenge, a Parisian jewelry company to create a necklace so grand the likes had never been seen before. They took to the task of collecting the diamonds for a necklace named ‘The Necklace of Slavery’.
Sketch of Diamond Necklace
It had 647 stones and weighed 2800 carats. The streamers to the side went down the wears back to balance them out, so they would not fall forward! The cost today for this necklace would be around $14 million dollars. Unfortunately, Louis XV died two years later and Madame du Barry was banished from court. Louis XVI offered to buy the necklace for his wife and Queen Marie Antoinette but she refused it. From other sources the reasons were the money should go to other parts of the government/country. Another was she did not want jewelry made for another woman and a woman the current Queen did not like. So the jewelers were stuck with a necklace and no buyers.
Replica of Diamond Necklace
This is where the stories intertwine, Jeanne wants money and feels entitled to have her share of prestige that was denied her due to her past. She lies about knowing the Queen. Rohan is desperate to get back into the Queen’s favor for his promotion that the possibility that this woman could help was an opportunity that he could not walk away from. The jewelers heard of Jeanne’s connection and got an opportunity to see if she could convince the Queen to rethink buying the necklace.
Jeanne gets her hands on the necklace and she and her husband try to pawn off a few stones at a time. They are not too successful and time is running out to keep fooling the jewelers that the Queen owns the necklace and will pay for it soon. When the news reaches the Queen about the necklace and its payment the King has Jeanne and Rohan arrested and a trial take place about all the secrets. One interesting idea that was mentioned was that the Queen would never have wanted that necklace, not because of the previously mentioned reasons but because it wasn’t her style. She was mentioned to like leaving her graceful neck free of adornment.
I looked up some photos to see about her taste in jewelry.
Other evidence is put out there but that was something I had not thought could be a major insight into Marie’s style. What do you think a good point or not?
I won’t go on with how it ends for the major players but obviously, it tarnished Antoinette’s already fragile reputation. The trail started in August of 1785 and judgement was passed in May of 1786. For those that know important dates in 1791 the French Revolution, ended the monarchies major influence and in 1792 the family was arrested with Marie Antoinette being beheaded on October 16, 1793.
Today though is Marie Antoinette’s birthday, born November 2, 1755. The book had a statement that seemed fitting when looking at the lives of those involved in this scandal, either knowingly or unknowingly. You are never more unwittingly in peril than when you think you’re the author of your own fate, but are in fact a character in someone else’s plot. Something to think about in our own lives.
painting of Marie Antoinette
I’d love to know your thought on this piece of history! Have you read the book or seen any of the movies that mentioned the necklace? Hilary Swank starred in a movie based on the scandal, The Affair of the Necklace (2001), did you see it? I hope you enjoyed this post return soon for more Data in the Rough!
When choosing what you want to be for Halloween, the costume is the first start but what about the jewelry and accessories? Have you dressed up as a princess, Egyptian Queen or Southern Belle? If you have dressed up as your favorite movie character I’m sure you put some thought into the accessories. Well the jewelry about from the movies The Little Princess, Cleopatra, and Gone with the Wind all had the same company supplying and creating the jewelry, Joseff of Hollywood.
I had known of the company for quite some time, the office that houses these Hollywood treasures is still running and located in California. You can read more on that in this article but I am reviewing the book Jewelry of the Stars: Creations from Joseff of Hollywood by Joanne Dubbs Ball. It was published in 1991. Which has now been 25 years but still a great book because Joseff’s wife was involved in the making of this book, otherwise the stories and extenstive photos of the jewelry created would not have been so in depth. The book is an easy read, divided into 8 ‘scenes’. Starting with the movie production beginnings and ending with the present state of the company. I will briefly cover some main points but not go too detailed so those interested in buying or borrowing the book can do so and not have all the interesting facts given away.
So in the beginning…
Movies produced had costume designers but a lot of the jewelry was real and belonged to the actress. This does not seem like a big issue but if a period piece on the early 1800’s is being made and an actress in the 1920’s has on trend jewelry the scene does not feel as authentic. You could try and buy period jewelry but again it may not suit the character and role being portrayed. This can also get expensive and hard to find.
Joseff’s full name was Eugene Joseff but many thought Joseff was his first name so he answered to that as well. Joseff was born in 1905 to Austrian parents in Chicago, Illinois. We he started out on his own his first attempt at business failed largely due to the Great Depression so Joseff headed to California to try it again at the jewelry business. His younger brother also went with him to be a part of the business.
In 1934, Joseff saw a movie starring Lucille Ball as a lady-in-waiting set in the 16th century he was distracted by her 20th century jewels. He knew the costume designer and went to complain about. The costumers’ response, ‘Well, if you’re so smart, let’s see what you can do.’ Well Joseph did and soon he was designing jewelry for most of the Hollywood movies. Joseff had studied jewelry and its history so he had an idea of what a piece should look like. He also did a lot of research to get the jewelry historically accurate.
What I loved most about the book besides the beautiful photos was that it talked about the business side of the business and the strategy. Joseff was great at creating jewelry but he had so areas that he needed to improve, I will touch on 3 important ones.
1: The Manufacturing: Joseff had to use outside artisans to create his jewelry, this worked if they could fulfill Joseff’s artistic vision on a piece. There were a few times that the manufacturer claimed the request could not be done. So Joseff knew he needed to spend the money to create his own in-house manufacturing. So, that he could work on those denied requests and he could achieve the designs he created. So, that was one problem solved.
Would not want to attempt to recreate this!
2: Selling his Jewelry: The time and effort going into this historically accurate jewelry was costly and time consuming, especially considering the early times when Joseff did not have the jewelry manufactured in house. So Joseff reached a deal with the production team. He would rent the jewelry to them. This was a win/win for both parties. For Hollywood, the cost was reduced by not paying full price and the headache of storing and finding it again was eliminated. For Joseff his creations would not need to be recreated and he would insure they would not get tossed out or forgotten in his archives. I loved this aspect of the story of Joseff. You can some of his jewels reused in several movies. Below is a movie that starred Angela Lansbury (left) the middle photo is Vivian Leigh and on both is the stunning necklace on the right.
3: The bookkeeping/other business matters: Joseff did have some good business sense. However, he was not great at bookkeeping and other business related tasks. He recognized that and called a local business college to send over their best and brightest to help. For the University of California Los Angeles that student was Joan Castle. She quickly assessed that the design part of his business was consuming every moment which is why other business aspects were causing some troubles in his business that would grow worse without any one to fix them. Joan and Joseff worked long hours to get the business on the right track and somewhere in all of that they fell in love. Joan described Joseff as handsome and charming, it was love at first sight for her.
The story of them getting together is one you should read from this book. It was romantic, funny and filled with some twists. A perfect script for a Hollywood movie!
Joseff and Joan
Movies was not to be Joseff of Hollywood’s only revenue stream. Since Joseff’s work was becoming so well-known he decided to go into the retail business. He sold creations seen on the stars he accessorized and made copies to sell in boutiques across the country. He was selective in who sold his jewelry and it was a major success and is still highly collectible. Some of the stars and the retail jewelry below.
Unfortunately, Joseff’s success was short lived. On September 18th, 1948 Eugene Joseff died in a plane crash. Joan was scheduled to fly with Joseff but had to cancel when some unexpected circumstances came up. The other part to make this more tragic was Joan and Joseff had an 11-month-old baby boy who would never know his father. Joan was inconsolable for weeks but with her resolve to be both mother and father to their son and continue with the business Joseff started she did get back into a routine. She even designed jewelry going forward but with lots of research and photos/paintings from that period to reference.
I loved the book and hope another is made maybe with the story on the manufacturing and suppling Hollywood in the modern day. Let me know if you have read this book. If you have any Joseff of Hollywood Jewelry, I’d love to know how you like it! Have a safe and Happy Halloween! Check back later for more Data in the Rough!
Conspiracy theories, revolts, grandeur, murder and cover ups are only the start to describe a book that explains how some of the Russian family jewels were saved! It is a relatively short book of 143 pages of text, the drawback at first glance is the few photos and even fewer colored photos in this book. The way the book started out also caused some early doubts about how good the book would be. I didn’t really have any set notions about how the story should go but the intro talking about the unmarked grave in Paris of a man I never heard of in all my reading on Russian Royal History caught me off guard. The photo of him (only one that seems to be publicly available) seemed a bit spooky. (Note: The photographer of the photo below is Cecil Bateman which was a name I know).
If I had not loved the jewelry of the Russian Royal Family (specifically Faberge) I might not have continued on. That would have been a mistake. The man in the picture above is Albert Stopford, born in England to a family of modest means. Albert left to pursue a job selling jewelry of Cartier and Faberge at his shop in London. There he got to be involved with the high society of London. When World War I was starting his connections soon put him in a position to spy for the Allies and members of the Royal family to see what was the state of the war front. The major contact that is important for this story is Albert’s connection to Grand Duchess Vladmir aka Maria Pavlovna (pictured below). Maria was married to the Czar Nicholas’ Uncle, Vladmir.
For those that do not know the history of the Russian Revolution it is worth taking a deeper look into. The book describes life in Russia for Albert as he watches what is happening to the Czar and the Russian people. I want to just focus mainly on the two chapters in the book about saving the jewels and the fate of the jewels once recovered. The Russian royalty was under strict watch and subjected to searches of their living quarters in hopes of finding jewels and other valuables. Maria was not located in the place that housed her jewels, so she got help from her sons, other royal relatives and Albert to sneak back in and claim her jewels. In the meantime, her sister the former Queen Alexandra,(her husband King Edward was dead at this time), got her son King George (current Queen Elizabeth’s Grandfather) to help get his Aunt out of the country to save her from a soon to be death. Sneaking back into the palace was no easy task, it was guarded and watched by outsiders. A story in the book told of a royal family member hearing of their palace getting ransacked because the maid forgot to turn off the lights when she left the palace that evening and suspicions were raised about who was in there. Once the men snuck past the guards, Maria’s details of where they could find her jewels was perfectly described. This made it easy for the men to locate where they should be and thankfully were found untouched. Albert and the group wrapped up the jewels in newspaper and placed them into Albert’s two Gladstone bags. I found a photo of what a Gladstone bag for a gentleman in the early 1900’s would look like. (below)
Maria is not reunited with her jewels until she gets to London, much later. Albert puts them in a London bank vault until she is safe and able to deal with them. Albert also does not do this for money but out of a sense of friendship and duty.
With the end of the Russian Royal family it also marked an era of amazing wealth and glamorous social scene. I want to share an except from the book talking about Maria’s jewels and how she enjoyed them. The first account is by Consuela Vanderbilt who visited Maria Pavlovna at Saint Petersburg : ‘She [Maria] had a majestic personality, but could be both gracious and charming. After dinner she showed me her jewels set out in glass cases in her dressing room. There were endless parures of diamonds, emeralds, rubies and pearls to say nothing of semi-precious stones such as turquoises, tourmalines, cat’s eyes and aquamarines.’ What a night that would be! It seems Russian etiquette called for the hostess show off her jewels to honored female guests. Not what would be called tasteful by others but I would be ok with seeing jewelry at a dinner party!
The other account of Maria and her jewels describes her relationship with her granddaughters. ‘The glass cases were set into four corners of her dressing-room, with red stones (rubies), blue (sapphires), green (emeralds), and white (pearls) in each corner, giving the room an almost octagonal appearance. Her grandchildren remembered their visits as small girls to the Vladimir Palace, and especially the inner sanctum of their grandmother’s dressing-room. To amuse the girls Maria would often invite them to choose what jewels she should wear for her next formal occasion. Red, perhaps? Or blue, green, or white? Olga, the eldest [granddaughter], usually made the final choice.’ Sounds like a typical day spent with a grandmother, lots of fun and laughter playing with grandma’s treasures!
So what became of these jewels? The Russian royals were left with little more than the clothes they came with. Maria needed to sell many of her jewels to continue to live a comfortable lifestyle. Many jewels were discreetly sold to other members of Europe’s royal family, but most were sold far below there true value. An example of a jewel that stayed within a royal family is the Diamond and Pearl Vladimir Tiara, a favorite of Maria’s.
You can see on the far left, in the photo above,Maria is wearing the tiara which was purchased later by Queen Mary who was Queen Elizabeth’s grandmother and passed this crown onto her.
Another look at the tiara worn by Queen Elizabeth (below) shows it missing its pearl drops.
Queen Mary had a set of Emerald drops made that could be interchanged with the pearls or just plain as shown. It is nice to have options right? A close up of the tiara with both pearls and emeralds (below).
Which look do you like better?
Another jewel that went through a few hands was a set of emeralds. Maria is shown wearing them in a head dress (I got a close up and colored in the emeralds green to highlight), that was converted into an emerald necklace. Remember that center stone with the six sides, in the next set of photos.
The next owner was Van Cleef & Arpels that sold them to heiress, Barbara Hutton. She had them as a necklace and then converted them into the iconic tiara that is shown on her. It was also shown in my last review of Famous Jewelry Collectors. You can read more on that transaction through this Sotheby’s article.
Hutton’s emerald’s were then sold again and used in a set of jewelry by Bulgaria that was bought and famously worn by none other than Elizabeth Taylor!
I remembered the name of her jewelry being called the Grand Duchess Vladimir Suite in some articles and saw that many of these emeralds were indeed from Maria’s collection. Bulgari bought back the collection when Dame Elizabeth’s jewels hit the auction block in 2011.
A photo combining the British royalty and Hollywood royalty was found online from the later 1970’s when Taylor was married to Senator John Warner. I like seeing the jewels out and enjoyed!
My Final Thoughts
Albert Stopford’s sacrifices to help save these treasures are still being appreciated today even if many are unaware of his story. I highly recommend this book. It does jump around at the beginning trying to establish different characters stories but it all ties up as the revolution plays out. With the recent world events there were some passages about the people over throwing the ruling family and the struggles of surviving in this paranoid, desolate and divided society as a product of the revolution that had some difficulty for me to focus on the history and not see some current parallels to the modern day current events. That makes this book all the more necessary to read, so history is learned from the past and not repeated! Check back soon for more book bling!
With summer in full swing many of you probably have plans for how you will spend your summer, trips to the beach, finishing outdoor projects, planning family outings, etc. Summer also has fewer jewelry auctions to preview and is traditionally a slower time for jewelry stores so not a lot of new inventory is in. How will I spend my summer to fill that void of jewelry? I plan on starting on a summer reading list focused on jewelry, book bling. So for the summer I plan to post once a week a book review of a jewelry book I have read. I went to the local library and found several that will be fun to learn about. My first deals with famous jewelry collectors. The book, Famous Jewelry Collectors, is by Stefano Papi and Alexandra Rhodes published in 1999. Here is the cover:
I saw this cover and knew this book was off to a great start. I have featured several of the Duchess of Windsor’s jewels on my Instagram and consider her jewels the finest collection I’ve ever seen!
The chapters about the collectors are broken out into three groups by their social class.
1: Screen Actresses and a Diva
Merle Oberon – Mary Pickford– Ava Gardner – Paulette Goddard – Joan Crawford- Renata Tebaldi
2: Aristocracy
Cornelia, Countess Carven-Gladys Duchess of Marlborough-King Umberto II of Italy-The Princess Royal, Countess of Harewood – The Princes von Thurn und Taxis – The Duchess of Windsor
3: Society
Countess Mona Bismarck – Lydia, Lady Deterding – Daisy Fellowes – Ganna Walska – Barbara Hutton – Helena Rubinstein
I want to then look at one collector from each group to highlight their story and jewels.
1: Screen Actresses and a Diva: Merle Oberon
I have always admired Ms. Oberon’s work. If you haven’t seen Wuthering Heights (1939) (photo of scene below) costarring Laurence Oliver, it is a must!
Her striking features were due to being born to a mother who was Indian and a farther that was British. He died when Merle was a small child, which had her and her mother relocate from Bombay to Calcutta. The fact her mother was dark skinned created a lot of prejudice against Merle and left her ashamed of her past. Her background was kept secret when she became a star. How did Merle go from India to Hollywood? With her stunning looks she always had admirers and one of them offered her a chance to go to France when she was in her late teens. The fling ended when the man met Merle’s mother but now with her in France she found another man who offered her a part in a film he was directing. She moved to London where she worked as a hostess at a café while getting small roles. As she climbed up the ladder to stardom she had suitors and husbands that gifted her with amazing jewels. One of my favorite pieces is a necklace by Cartier bought in London, 1938. The beads are emeralds with diamond spacers (pictured below).
Another fun set to see was a set of brooches in turquoise and diamonds by Van Cleef & Arpels (below).
Merle also had earrings and a necklace to match. She also wore some of her real jewels in her movies. The 1967 movie, Hotel features the turquoise necklace and earrings. The 1938 movie, The Divorce of Lady X, also features an antique emerald and diamond necklace owned by the actress as she costars again with Laurence Oliver. I could not get a good photo of that stunner for this post. Many of her jewels were auctioned by Christie’s in April 1980 after her death in 1979.
2: Aristocracy: Gladys, Duchess of Marlborough
The next collector I chose because of her story being unique to all the others in this group. Although it is the usual start with Gladys being very beautiful and charming, pursued by many eligible bachelors. Gladys declined their advances and pursued learning, mastering new languages and increasing her knowledge of art. This was rare for a woman, especially one in high society to not marry, but Gladys had an independent spirit. Her admirers gifted her with jewels throughout her years. One in particular was the Duke of Marlborough, she met him in 1897 when she was about 16 years old and he was 26. The Duke was engaged to a Vanderbilt whom he married but always kept in touch with Gladys. He was married 26 years to his first wife when he had it annulled and finally got Gladys to marry him when was now 40. She was hesitant because she loved her life without constraints. She did get some major perks and one of them was the jewelry. Below is an imperial pearl and diamond tiara.
This belonged to the Romanovs, the Duke bought it after the Bolsheviks sold it and other items of royalty off. Another item of great beauty is this amethyst and diamond sautoir by Cartier, a great example of art deco jewelry (picture below).
The marriage was not successful they separated in 1933 and the Duke died in 1934. She disappeared out of much of the public view. She was tracked down by a biographer whom heard of her through mentions in a diary by an admirer. The biographer found her in a little village and got her story. She died in October 1977 at age 97 and her jewels auctioned in 1978.
3: Society: Helena Rubinstein
I had not heard of this woman until reading this book. Helena Rubenstein is the founder of the beauty product line that bears her name. Helena was born in Poland in 1870 and traveled to Australia at 18 to spend time with her brother’s family. She packed several jars of beauty cream with her for the harsh Australian weather. She shared this cream with her new Aussie friends who were happy with the results. The cream was not invented by her but she ended up partnering with the maker to open shops in Australia to sell this cream. She married and had children but continued building her businesses. The jewelry was mostly bought by her. She would buy what she called ‘quarrel jewelry’. When she and her husband would have disagreements she would indulge herself with a beautiful piece of jewelry.
She loved chunky jewelry which I found interesting because of her petite size. She height was only 4’10’’. She acquired quite a bit of jewelry and in this book it had a story about her experience with airport security. Her jewels were sold big and colorful that Helena would lie and say they were costume and security always believed her! Below are some photos of her and her jewelry.
I really enjoyed this book and could not cover it all in one post. I hope the women I highlighted help guide you into reading more on them or finding other books that give more details into the life of the collector. Please let me know your thoughts or if you have a question about this book! Look for more book reviews this summer!
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