Donald Claflin for Tiffany & Co. Brooches

A spectacular brooch by Donald Claflin, made of 18k gold, featuring colored gemstones and diamonds. The brooch is designed as two giraffe heads with a neck decorated with a diamond bow. The brooch is entirely strewn with shaped colored gemstones including zircons and sapphires. The eyes are accented with marquise-shaped rubies. This playful piece clearly represents Claflin's unique style, known for its sculptural and imaginative animal motifs. This exuberant brooch is a head-turner that is stunning and frisky at the same time. The vintage ring giraffe brooch is made of 18 karat yellow gold. The zircons and sapphires are of various shapes and hues of yellow, brown, yellowish brown, green and brownish green, yellowish greenish brown, eye-clean to slightly included. The diamonds are round brilliant cut, F-G color, VS1 clarity, total weight approximately 2.0 carats). The brooch measures 2 ½” x 2 1/8" (6.5 x 5.3 centimeters) and weighs 48.0 grams. The vintage Claflin brooch is stamped with Tiffany & Co. maker's marks. About Donald Claflin Designs: Donald Claflin (1935-1979) was a prominent American jewelry designer who was especially celebrated for his imaginative creations for Tiffany & Co. Claflin studied at the Parsons School of Design in New York, where he developed his skills as an illustrator and textile designer. His journey into the world of jewelry began at David Webb. In 1965, Claflin joined Tiffany & Co., where he continued the aesthetic that was successfully established by Jean Schlumberger. Donald Claflin was a creative force whose animal designs were filled with imagination and whimsy. His artistry turned everyday materials into sculptures that look very realistic. Claflin's talent for providing his creations with joy and character distinguished his work in the art world. By combining detailed craftsmanship with a playful spirit, he created creatures that seemed to come straight from a book. He crafted jewelry inspired by classic children’s stories. Claflin’s designs were characterized by vivid enamel colors and meticulous craftsmanship, hallmarks of the Carvin French firm, which manufactured Claflin's pieces. He also created several classically styled pieces for Tiffany. In 1969, he designed the first Tiffany collection featuring tanzanite, which was a newly discovered gemstone. In 1976, he re-imagined the classic Tiffany diamond engagement ring...

Pendant brooch designed by Donald Claflin for Tiffany & Co. Gorgeous piece, created in New York city at the Tiffany Studios, back in the 1970's. This beautiful pendant brooch has be...

Brooch is comprised of prong set round brilliant cut diamonds spelling the word 'LOVE' Weighing in total approximately 2.16 carats with F/G color and VS clarity Completed by pin st...

Platinum and Diamond "Love" pin by Tiffany & Company and famed designer Donald Claflin, containing twenty two (22) round brilliant cut diamonds with an approximate 2.20 Tcw. All diamonds are VS quality and colorless. The pin measures W 3/8 X 1 1 1/4 Inch in. Tiffany & Co. is one of the most prominent purveyors of luxury goods in the United States, and has long been an important arbiter of style in the design of diamond engagement rings. A young Franklin Delano Roosevelt proposed to his future wife, Eleanor, with a Tiffany ring in 1904. Vanderbilts, Whitneys, Astors and members of the Russian imperial family all wore Tiffany & Co. jewels. And Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis preferred Tiffany china for state dinners at the White House. Although synonymous with luxury today, the firm started out rather modestly. Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B. Young founded it in Connecticut as a “stationery and fancy goods emporium” in 1837, at a time when European imports still dominated the nascent American luxury market. In 1853, Charles Tiffany — who in 1845 had launched the company’s famed catalog, the Blue Book, and with it, the firm’s signature robin’s-egg blue, which he chose for the cover — shifted the focus to fine jewelry. In 1868, Tiffany & Co. gained international recognition when it became the first U.S. firm to win an award for excellence in silverware at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. From then on, it belonged to the pantheon of American luxury brands. At the start of the Gilded Age, in 1870, Tiffany & Co. opened its flagship store, described as a "palace of jewels" by the New York Times, at 15 Union Square West in Manhattan. Throughout this period, its designs for silver tableware, ceremonial silver, flatware and jewelry were highly sought-after indicators of status and taste. They also won the firm numerous accolades, including the grand prize for silverware at the Paris Exposition of 1878. Among the firm’s glittering creations from this time are masterworks of Art Nouveau jewelry, such as this delicate aquamarine necklace and this lavish plique-à-jour peridot and gold necklace, both circa 1900. When Charles Lewis Tiffany died, in 1902, his son Louis Comfort Tiffany became the firm’s design director. Under his leadership, the Tiffany silver studio was a de facto design school for apprentice silversmiths, who worked alongside head artisan Edward C. Moore. The firm produced distinctive objects inspired by Japanese art and design, North American plants and flowers, and Native American patterns...

Platinum and Diamond "Love" pin by Tiffany & Company and famed designer Donald Claflin, containing twenty two (22) round brilliant cut diamonds with an approximate 2.20 Tcw. All diamonds are VS quality and colorless. The pin measures W 3/8 X 1 1 1/4 Inch in. Tiffany & Co. is one of the most prominent purveyors of luxury goods in the United States, and has long been an important arbiter of style in the design of diamond engagement rings. A young Franklin Delano Roosevelt proposed to his future wife, Eleanor, with a Tiffany ring in 1904. Vanderbilts, Whitneys, Astors and members of the Russian imperial family all wore Tiffany & Co. jewels. And Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis preferred Tiffany china for state dinners at the White House. Although synonymous with luxury today, the firm started out rather modestly. Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B. Young founded it in Connecticut as a “stationery and fancy goods emporium” in 1837, at a time when European imports still dominated the nascent American luxury market. In 1853, Charles Tiffany — who in 1845 had launched the company’s famed catalog, the Blue Book, and with it, the firm’s signature robin’s-egg blue, which he chose for the cover — shifted the focus to fine jewelry. In 1868, Tiffany & Co. gained international recognition when it became the first U.S. firm to win an award for excellence in silverware at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. From then on, it belonged to the pantheon of American luxury brands. At the start of the Gilded Age, in 1870, Tiffany & Co. opened its flagship store, described as a "palace of jewels" by the New York Times, at 15 Union Square West in Manhattan. Throughout this period, its designs for silver tableware, ceremonial silver, flatware and jewelry were highly sought-after indicators of status and taste. They also won the firm numerous accolades, including the grand prize for silverware at the Paris Exposition of 1878. Among the firm’s glittering creations from this time are masterworks of Art Nouveau jewelry, such as this delicate aquamarine necklace and this lavish plique-à-jour peridot and gold necklace, both circa 1900. When Charles Lewis Tiffany died, in 1902, his son Louis Comfort Tiffany became the firm’s design director. Under his leadership, the Tiffany silver studio was a de facto design school for apprentice silversmiths, who worked alongside head artisan Edward C. Moore. The firm produced distinctive objects inspired by Japanese art and design, North American plants and flowers, and Native American patterns and crafts, adding aesthetic diversity to Tiffany & Co.’s distinguished repertoire. Tiffany is also closely associated with diamonds, even lending its name to one particularly rare and exceptional yellow stone. The firm bought the Tiffany diamond in its raw state from the Kimberley mines of South Africa in 1878. Cut to create a 128.54-carat gem with an unprecedented 82 facets, it is one of the most spectacular examples of a yellow diamond in the world. In a broader sense, Tiffany & Co. helped put diamonds on the map in 1886 by introducing the American marketplace to the solitaire diamond design, which is still among the most popular...

An American Mid-20th Century18 karat gold brooch with diamonds by Donald Claflin. Claflin's whimsical designs have long been celebrated by devoted jewelry collectors and jewelry hist...

Platinum and Diamond "Love" pin by Tiffany & Company and famed designer Donald Claflin, containing twenty two (22) round brilliant cut diamonds with an approximate 2.20 Tcw. All diamonds are VS quality and colorless. The pin measures W 3/8 X 1 1 1/4 Inch in. Tiffany & Co. is one of the most prominent purveyors of luxury goods in the United States, and has long been an important arbiter of style in the design of diamond engagement rings. A young Franklin Delano Roosevelt proposed to his future wife, Eleanor, with a Tiffany ring in 1904. Vanderbilts, Whitneys, Astors and members of the Russian imperial family all wore Tiffany & Co. jewels. And Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis preferred Tiffany china for state dinners at the White House. Although synonymous with luxury today, the firm started out rather modestly. Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B. Young founded it in Connecticut as a “stationery and fancy goods emporium” in 1837, at a time when European imports still dominated the nascent American luxury market. In 1853, Charles Tiffany — who in 1845 had launched the company’s famed catalog, the Blue Book, and with it, the firm’s signature robin’s-egg blue, which he chose for the cover — shifted the focus to fine jewelry. In 1868, Tiffany & Co. gained international recognition when it became the first U.S. firm to win an award for excellence in silverware at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. From then on, it belonged to the pantheon of American luxury brands. At the start of the Gilded Age, in 1870, Tiffany & Co. opened its flagship store, described as a "palace of jewels" by the New York Times, at 15 Union Square West in Manhattan. Throughout this period, its designs for silver tableware, ceremonial silver, flatware and jewelry were highly sought-after indicators of status and taste. They also won the firm numerous accolades, including the grand prize for silverware at the Paris Exposition of 1878. Among the firm’s glittering creations from this time are masterworks of Art Nouveau jewelry, such as this delicate aquamarine necklace and this lavish plique-à-jour peridot and gold necklace, both circa 1900. When Charles Lewis Tiffany died, in 1902, his son Louis Comfort Tiffany became the firm’s design director. Under his leadership, the Tiffany silver studio was a de facto design school for apprentice silversmiths, who worked alongside head artisan Edward C. Moore. The firm produced distinctive objects inspired by Japanese art and design, North American plants and flowers, and Native American patterns...

Donald Claflin was one of Tiffany's most daring and creative in house designers. From 1965-1977 he worked along side other notables such as Jean Schlumberger designing the avant-gar...