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VAN CLEEF & ARPELS
See original version (French)
59
-
VAN CLEEF & ARPELS
See original version (French)
Estimate €35,000 - €50,000
Voluntary lot
Description
VAN CLEEF & ARPELS
‘Plume’ brooch
Antique-cut, eight-eight-cut and baguette diamonds
18k gold (750) and platinum (950)
Signed and numbered
Case
L.: approx. 10.5 cm – Wt.: 19.8 g
A diamond, gold and platinum brooch, signed Van Cleef & Arpels.
Note:
A Van Cleef & Arpels feather: a blend of grace and modernity
Whilst the 1920s may appear to be a carefree interlude in the interwar period, in the history of art, this decade marks a turning point in which Art Nouveau and its sweeping, whip-like lines gave way to the clean lines of Art Deco. In jewellery, this shift was reflected in the predominance of diamonds and the more widespread use of platinum over yellow gold; designs became lighter and more luminous: thus white jewellery was born.
On the Place Vendôme, Van Cleef & Arpels established itself as a master of white jewellery, offering bracelets, brooches and clips featuring diamond-paved platinum set against designs inspired by flora and fauna.
A motif much loved by jewellers, the feather has been interpreted in many ways, but it is through the designs of Van Cleef & Arpels that it truly embodies the ideals of freedom and purity. More realistic than stylised, it appears as light as it is natural; the overlapping quills and the delicate composition elegantly and poetically capture a movement that seems suspended in time.
Designed in 1927, the piece presented here perfectly embodies this vision of the feather unique to Van Cleef & Arpels: a piece that is at once precious, ethereal and resolutely modern.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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