Articles

Elsa Schiaparelli Elsa Schiaparelli was born in Rome in 1890 to wealthy family. She was  rebellious from an early age and once attended a ball wrapped simply in a length of fabric that unwound as the night went on, bringing shame and  scandal to her family. She married William de Wendt and had a daughter, however the marriage did not last leaving her a  single mother. She had a passion for  the arts and fashion, and determined to  suceed independently, she moved to Paris in the 1920's. Here she met top designer Paul  Poiret who introduced ..

Lisner Lisner jewellery has only become  popular with collectors over recent years, as the focus has been on  bigger names. However the company's skilfull an attractive designs together with relatively low prices have led to a  resurgence in their popularity with collectors. Lisner Company Beginnings The company was established in New York  in 1904 where it made its own good quality  unsigned jewellery and also distributed  pieces for others. In the 1920's it focused on well made jewellery marked "Lanvin's Violet". Before the outbreak of the sec..

The Influence of the Bauhaus   At the  Bauhaus a German design school in existence from 1919 onwards, the application of modernist principles to smaller scale design took place. Under the management of it director Walter Gropius it's stong influence on the art and design world continued even after the school was shut by the Nazi's in 1933. The Bauhaus ethos of "form follows function" was applied to all products that emanated from this infuential school of avant gard students and teachers. Ergonomic Lines   Bauhaus design required to have a ..

Vivianna Torun Bulow-Hube   Born in 1927 Vivianna Torun Bulow-Hube studied at the National College of Craft and Design in Stockholm, before opening her studio there in 1951.During a trip to Paris in 1956, she was interested by the early artifacts on display at the Musee de L'Homme and then designed jewellery with Egyptian amulets.  Torun decided to remain and  work in France. She married an African-American painter Walter Coleman, and though him became friends with the expatriate Black community. She designed rutilated quartz silver necklaces and ..

Marcel Boucher Marcel Boucher was born in 1898. He was a French jewellery designer who produced some of the most flamboyant work in the 1940's. He trained at Cartier in Paris before moving to New York int he 1920's. In 1937 he set up his own business, Marcel Boucher et Cie. His business partner Arthur Halberstadt worked as the front of house  person in the shop, while Boucher designed the jewellery. The Cartier Influence The influence of Cartier can be seen in the firm's designs of Rococo bows and swags, however the traditional French style has been exaggerated to ob..

  Cartier The idea for the clip pin apparently came to Louis Cartier, the french jeweller while watching a peasant women hanging up her washing with wooden clothes pegs. This then evolved into a variet of clip types inlcuding the double  clip - this was two fur clips that could be worn seperately or worn together attached to a frame. Coro and the Duette clip Cartier patented this idea  in 1927 and it soon became very popular across Europe .and America due to its versatility. The most successful example was Coro's "'Duette" which was patented by the ..

Elis Kauppi One of the most important figures in Finish jewellery design Elis Kauppi’s vision of a new jewellery style inspired a generation of designers and launched Finland onto the international jewellery design scene. In 1945, in Turku, Finland at the age of 24 , Kauppi started his renowned jewellery workshop named Kupittaan Kulta. He was part of a young group of makers which would forever change the face of jewellery design. Kauppi's drive to innovate originated from the difficult circumstances of the war and a desire to break out of the  usual standar..

Sweden and Traditionalist Design Conservative tastes prevailed in Sweden in the first two decades of the 20th century. Innovation was not welcomed. Georg Jensen was admired but from a distance. The Art Nouveau and Art Deco influences from Europe were not explored until Wiwen Nilsson came onto the scene. The traditionalist design ethos in Sweden was evident at the Paris Expo in 1900, however by 1925 and the time of the Arts Decoratifs Expo the beginning of modern silver design in Sweden was evident Wiwen Nilsson Wiwen  Nilsson was the catalyst for modern silver desi..

WHAT IS  PERIDOT? Peridot only comes in greens, from pale yellow green, through intense bottle green to vibrant apple green. The best material  comes from Pakistan near to the Afghan border. The large fine deposit of peridot found there have a beautiful deep colour and sell for high prices. Peridot is termed an idiochromatic gemstone. This means that the colour comes from the chemical composition of the stone and not from impurities within which normally provide gemstone colour STRUCTURE OF PERIDOT Peridot is generally transparent but can contain a wide..

TYPES OF BERYL The beryl species has a great mix of gemstones which are all viewed as precious gems. They include the following: EMERALD - The colour of emerald varies  according to its source and location in the world.The most prized colour is a strong slightly blueish - green.Colombian emeralds are pure green with a slight hint of blue.They are dichroic which means that the colour will vary depending on the position from which you look at it. Brazilian emeralds are slightly lighter in colour and contain more yellow than Columbian stones. They sometimes..