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MiriamHaskell WWII FrankHess Rose Rhodoid & CrystalMontee Layered Clip Climbers

About the Item

Beginning in 1939, American Miriam Haskell asked her first designer since 1926 Frank Hess to sparingly use metal in their costume-jewelry collections during WWII while war materials were needed. So not unlike the Spring/Summer 2024 floral appliques designed by Balmain artistic director Olivier Rousteing, hand-crafted rose-motif plastic never looked more beautiful in the 20th Century than such eye-catching glossy creations as these ballet-pink clip earrings by Hess. In this reflective and sparkling pair of lightweight slightly asymmetrical climbers, shiny film-like rhodoid is hand-cut, layered in three dimensions for irregular shadows, and riveted with clear roses-montees to a thin silver metal frame, which replaced Hess' characteristic wired Russian-gilt brass frame while still resembling his earlier construction (see our other Haskell listing for an early double fur-clip chain lariat). The earring clips, with tiny holes that were used for unsigned Haskell earrings in the early 1940s, also help to identify the maker. No Haskell pieces were signed before post-war 1947, while any temporarily attached tag was meant to be removed. There is slight feather-like scratching of the cellulose acetate, which the multitude of refractions and irregular cuts overshadow. The value of these one-of-a-kind floral sprays is in their hand-craftsmanship and creative use of minimal non-precious materials. Less-is-more is rarely done so well!
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