Van Cleef & Arpels
Diamond brooch, 'Tourbillon', 1942 and a pair of diamond earrings
Lot Closed
November 27, 04:08 PM GMT
Estimate
15,000 - 20,000 GBP
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Read more.Lot Details
Description
Comprising: a brooch designed as a camelia flower, decorated centrally and around the edges with brilliant-cut diamonds, signed Van Cleef & Arpels, numbered, French and Egyptian assay marks; and an associated pair of ear clips of spiral design set with brilliant- and single-cut diamonds, Egyptian assay marks.
Sylvie Raulet, Van Cleef & Arpels, Paris, 1986, p.129
Evelyne Possémé, Van Cleef & Arpels, The Art of High Jewelry, Paris, 2012, p.146,
David Bennett and Daniela Mascetti, Understanding Jewellery, 1989, p.366 for a brooch of similar design
This brooch was a gift from the owner's father to their mother upon their birth in 1942. It bears Egyptian assay marks due to the family living in Alexandria at this time. Alexandria in the 1940s was a melting pot of culture, architecture and intellectuals due to it being a thriving Mediterranean port. Despite being in a period of transition out from under British influence, it was a microcosm of international influences while retaining its Egyptian core. Lawrence Durrell famously captured the essence of Alexandria in his "Alexandria Quartet", a series of four novels set in the city in the 1930s and 1940s, saying "The city, half-imagined (yet wholly real), begins and ends in us, roots lodged in our deepest histories."
The 'Tourbillon' brooch is a rare design due to the limited number made during this time, it is a beautiful example of 20th century high jewellery which is not often seen. A similar brooch was also in the collection of Sunny von Bülow.
