Diamond and rock crystal double-clip/brooch, Maison Herz, Designed by Suzanne Belperron, circa 1935

The pair of clips composed of carved rock crystal segments, set with round and old European-cut diamonds weighing approximately 5.45 carats, mounted in platinum and white gold, workshop mark for Groené & Darde, French assay marks.

In good general condition. Light wear to the mounting. A 13 x 6.5 mm section from the tip of one rock crystal tablet is missing (possibly an old break), but this is not visible from the front and only seen on close inspection of the reverse. Small chips to the perimeters of the tablets as well as to the "keel lines" of the carved undersides, but not readily apparent. Set with 188 round and old European-cut diamonds, approximately G-H color, VS clarity. French gold marks on the clips. Minor discoloration to the reverse of one clip.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion. Illustrations in the catalogue may not be actual size. Prospective purchasers are reminded that, unless the catalogue description specifically states that a stone is natural, we have assumed that some form of treatment may have been used and that such treatment may not be permanent. Our presale estimates reflect this assumption.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Suzanne Belperron was an exacting artist who did not feel the need to sign the jewels she designed feeling her distinctive style signature was enough.

From 1919 to 1932, Belperron was a designer at Maison René Boivin in Paris.  Their refusal to appoint her their creative director compelled her to strike out on her own.  While some of her first works mirrored those she had created for Boivin, she went on to develop an original style completely her own.  She began working for Bernard Herz, a dealer in precious stones, in 1933, where she was allowed total freedom of design and sold her jewels under the name Maison Herz.  Refusing to leave France during the German occupation in WWII, the firm was registered under her own name in 1941 in order to save it from liquidation, and subsequently renamed Herz-Belperron in 1946, when Bernard Herz' son, Jean, joined her in the business.

The shop was located on rue de Chateaudun in the 9^th arrondisement.  Belperron dressed in black before it was fashionable and painted her long fingernails dark red.  She saw clients only by appointment or by referral. Each piece was unique, stamped with the maker's mark for Darde et Fils who executed her designs.  Diana Vreeland was a patron and in 1935 Elsa Schiaparelli was pictured in Vogue Magazine wearing jewels by Belperron with her Venetian blackamoor costume for Daisy Fellowes' Bal Oriental.  It was a time when jewelry and fashion were in harmony, each enhancing the other.  Fashion photography supplanted fashion illustrations as the vehicle to spread the word and fashion designers looked to jewelry designers like Belperron to "accessorize."

Belperron liked the transparency of hardstones like rock crystal, chalcedony and agate which she mixed with precious stones, diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires, often in matching color tones.  The suite of blue chalcedony and sapphire jewels, circa 1935, she made for the Duchess of Windsor is a stunning example of this effective combination.  In fact, the appearance of this suite in the iconic auction of the jewels of the Duchess of Windsor at Sotheby's Geneva in 1987 alerted an appreciative new audience to Belperron's artistry.  This rock crystal and diamond double-clip brooch is another example.  In high modernist style, the sharp etched angles of the rock crystal are joined by linear and voluptuous pavé-diamond mounds to be worn end to end in the brooch mounting or separately as clips, a new transformable mechanism of the 1930's that allowed for infinite possibilities of use.

One of a handful of women designers of the period, or any period, for that matter, Belperron did not stop designing until 1974 and died in 1983.