Trabert & Hoeffer–Mauboussin

Paulette Goddard (1910-1990)

Cf.: Stefano Papi & Alexandra Rhodes, Famous Jewelry Collectors, Thames & Hudson, 1999, pg. 31-37, for an overview of the jewellery collection of Paulette Goddard.

Paulette Goddard (1910-1990) The closing scene of 'Modern Times' (1936) - The Little Tramp and his girlfriend, the Gamin, bravely walking towards a hopeful horizon to the theme ´Smile’ - is one of the most emblematic moments in cinema history. Modern Times marked the final appearance of Charlie Chaplin’s Little Tramp as well as being his penultimate silent movie, more than half a decade after the appearance of talking pictures. Furthermore, Modern Times featured the break-through performance of Charlie Chaplin’s second wife Paulette Goddard.  

Born as Marion Levy in New York City, Paulette Goddard started her career working for legendary producer Florenz Ziegfeld in the late 1920s. She moved to Hollywood in the early 1930s initially finding only small, uncredited parts in Samuel Goldwyn productions. In 1932, Paulette Goddard met Charlie Chaplin. Their relationship provided her with the nurturing she needed to develop her acting abilities as well as wide-spread name recognition.

Charlie Chaplin made two movies with his second wife, the aforementioned 'Modern Times' (1936) and 'The Great Dictator' (1940). Both are unforgettable classics conveying a strong social message, the former being a commentary on poverty during the Great Depression, the latter a manifesto against fascism. 

By the late 1930s, Paulette Goddard was getting restless that, in spite of her collaborations with her husband, she still had fairly few film credits to her name. When David O. Selznick was looking to cast the highly coveted part of Scarlett O’Hara in the epic 'Gone With The Wind', Paulette Goddard was the favourite candidate and the only one to be granted a colour test. Unfortunately for her, an little-known British actress by the name of Vivien Leigh got the part. To compensate for the loss, Charlie Chaplin presented her with this emerald and diamond bangle by Trabert & Hoeffer - Mauboussin which was originally accompanied by a brooch composed of two matching flower heads which were later converted into a pair of ear clips. In her next picture, the legendary MGM all-female ensemble cast comedy 'The Women' (1939), Miss Goddard wore her emerald and diamond bangle in the first scene where the audience is introduced to her character, a spunky former chorus girl on her way to Reno. 

In 1939, Paulette Goddard signed with Paramount Pictures sounding in the most productive period of her career. She danced with Fred Astaire in 'Second Chorus' (1940). In 1941, she costarred with Charles Boyer and Olivia de Havilland in 'Hold Back the Dawn'. She received an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress for the World War II drama 'So Proudly We Hail!' (1943) opposite Claudette Colbert and Veronica Lake. With director Cecil B. DeMille she collaborated three times: 'North West Mounted Police' (1940), 'Reap the Wild Winds' (1942) and 'Unconquered' (1947). In 'Kitty' (1945), a retelling of Pygmalion set in 18th century London, she found one of her best-received leading roles. In 1946, Goddard produced and starred in 'Diary of a Chambermaid' working with noted French director Jean Renoir.

In 1949, Paulette Goddard left Paramount. After appearing in a handful of independent pictures during the early 1950s, she married author Erich Maria Remarque in 1958. Remarque is best remembered for his classic novel ‘All Quiet On The Western Front’. The couple took up residence in Ronco Sopra Ascona near Locarno, Switzerland. When she passed away in 1990, Paulette Goddard left her entire estate to New York University. Her jewels were dispersed at Sotheby’s New York spread over two auctions in April and October 1990.

During the Golden Age of Hollywood, many stars including Marlene Dietrich, Joan Crawford and Carole Lombard owned considerable personal jewellery collections which they wore both on screen and off. Paulette Goddard’s collection included pieces by Van Cleef & Arpels, Trabert & Hoeffer Mauboussin, as well as antique jewels and the original ‘lips’ brooch by Salvador Dali. This emerald and diamond bangle was a prominent part of her star persona and would have been instantly recognisable to any 1940s moviegoer.