Jewelry by Suzanne Belperron: My Style is My Signature Rare Out of Print Book

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Jewelry by Suzanne Belperron: My Style is My Signature Rare Out of Print Book

About the Item

Jewelry by Suzanne Belperron: My Style is My Signature. Opened and looked at once, in excellent as new condition. 240 pages Published by Thames and Hudson. 10.6 x 1.2 x 11.4 inches "The definitive illustrated biography of one of the most influential and important jewelry designers of the twentieth century. When asked why she never signed her work, Suzanne Belperron replied, “My style is my signature.” In 1919 Suzanne Belperron, at age 19, began her lifelong journey at the vanguard of modern art and design. Her pioneering work in the Art Deco style evolved into the colorful compositions and pure, sensual forms that became her unmistakable trademarks. Among the pantheon of twentieth century master jewelers, Madame Belperron stands apart as the only woman. Illustrated in this book is a splendid array of Belperron’s work, from her earliest designs as a student in her native city of Besançon, in eastern France, to her groundbreaking creations for the Maison Boivin and Maison B. Herz in the 1920s and 1930s, culminating in the iconic jewels she designed after World War II. Also included are the original designs she created for style-making clients ranging from intellectuals to actors, artists to royalty. Jean Cocteau, Colette, Mrs. Gary Cooper, Doris Duke, Mona von Bismarck, Lauren Bacall, Daisy Fellowes, Clark Gable, Dorothy Paley Hirshon, Elsa Schiaparelli, Diana Vreeland, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were among her loyal patrons and friends. Current admirers include Catherine Deneuve, Daphne Guinness, and Karl Lagerfeld, who has written a personal foreword to this book. A selection of the over 9,200 gouache paintings and tracings from the Belperron archive of designs (nearly all unpublished) are shown with an impressive catalog of finished jewels. Divided into six chapters from Coming of Age to A New Partnership, the book follows Belperron’s extraordinary life and career. With over 300 photographs by David Behl of jewelry from private collections, the publication presents a portfolio of some of the rarest and most important examples of Suzanne Belperron’s work. Based on private letters, photographs, and personal documents from the Herz and Belperron families, as well as those of her expert craftsmen, the book offers a view into the personal life of a remarkable woman whose influence endures to this day. 250 illustrations in color and black-and-white'

Designer:
Suzanne Belperron
Brand:
Suzanne Belperron
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
21st Century
Condition:
Seller Location:
Cloverdale, CA
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU5812807012

Shop All Suzanne Belperron

Suzanne Belperron

Suzanne Belperron (1900–83) may not be a household name, but anyone who knows jewelry will recognize her as one of the industry’s 20th-century greats. She was born Suzanne Vuillerme in Saint-Claude, France, a center of the French diamond-cutting industry. Displaying an early talent for design, Belperron studied at the Besançon École des Beaux-Arts before moving to Paris and landing her first job as a model-maker and designer at French jewelry house Boivin when she was 19. Within a few years, she was named codirector — a meteoric rise that would jump-start her legacy.

In 1932, Belperron left Boivin to partner with gemstone and natural pearl dealer Bernard Herz, with whom she would develop her distinct avant-garde aesthetic. Unlike most jewelry designers of the day, Belperron decided against signing her works, feeling so confident in her uniqueness that she declared, “My style is my signature.” Her exceptionally dramatic works were nothing like the angular Art Deco pieces that were popular at the time, taking on large-scale sculptural forms and featuring various design motifs from cultures around the world. The designer was a favorite of couturier Elsa Schiaparelli, who modeled her Belperron jewelry in Vogue in 1933. (Belperron jewels would grace the cover of Vogue Paris in 1934.) She would also count Diana Vreeland and Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor, among her fans.

World War II changed everything. When the Germans occupied Paris, the Jewish Herz transferred the company to Belperron in order to preserve the business. Both would later be arrested by the Nazis. Belperron was released; Herz was sent to the Drancy internment camp. He later died at Auschwitz, despite Belperron’s best efforts to get him released.

Belperron kept the firm going during the war and after its end Herz’s son, Jean — a released prisoner of war — became Belperron’s equal partner per Bernard Herz’s final wishes. The two would work together under the name Jean Herz-Suzanne Belperron for the rest of her career. In 1963, Belperron was awarded the rank of Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, and she quietly retired in 1974.

In 1987, there was a resurgence of interest in Belperron’s work, thanks to the auction of the Duchess of Windsor’s personal collection, which included at least 16 pieces by the designer. In 1999, Ward Landrigan of Verdura acquired both the rights to the Belperron name as well as a design archive of thousands of drawings, leading to the relaunch of the brand in 2015 with a new salon on Fifth Avenue in New York.

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