Diamond foliate brooch, Paul Flato, circa 1935

Designed as a partly flexible trailing leaf and berry motif, set with 4 old European-cut diamonds weighing approximately 4.00 carats, completed by numerous old European-cut and single-cut diamonds weighing approximately 20.00 carats, mounted in platinum, signed Flato, may be separated into two brooches. 

Texas-born Paul Flato (1900-1999) was the quintessential American jeweler. His natural wit and Southern charm, combined with keen business instincts, enabled him to move easily from the social scene to the business of supplying jewelry to socialites and stars. After opening his first shop on East 57^th Street in New York, an almost immediate success, he expanded the business westward to Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. From this elegant salon, which opened in 1938, he became a true jeweler to the stars, his creations adorning the costumes of Katharine Hepburn, Lily Pons, Greta Garbo and Merle Oberon, among others. 

 

Assisted by his team of designers, Flato created jewels that were perfect for every occasion, from whimsical gold daytime jewelry to diamond cascades for evening. Adolph Klety, his head designer, is credited with reviving the taste for naturalism in the firm’s more formal diamond jewelry. Inspired by the traditional floral and foliate motifs of the French Court, these elegant diamond creations were described by Flato as “drippy” jewels, due to the flexible, articulated mountings that gave them a life-like appearance.