Aldo Cipullo Zodiac Pisces Lapis Lazuli Gold Pendant Charm
View Similar Items
Aldo Cipullo Zodiac Pisces Lapis Lazuli Gold Pendant Charm
About the Item
- Creator:
- Metal:
- Stone:
- Dimensions:Diameter: 1.25 in (31.75 mm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Circa 1970
- Condition:
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: J141217267129
Aldo Cipullo
In a jewelry-design career spanning just over two decades, Aldo Cipullo created a portfolio of iconic pieces. And decades after his death, his most famous, the Cartier Love bracelet, remains a best seller.
A life devoted to jewelry seemed preordained for Cipullo, who was born in Naples in 1935 and raised in Rome. His father, Giuseppe, manufactured costume jewelry, and Cipullo, the eldest of five siblings, began selling goods for the family business at age 15.
In 1959, Cipullo left postwar Italy for New York City. He had found the right place at the right time to ply his prodigious talent and navigated between some of the most prestigious jewelers situated on the city’s most glittering thoroughfares, 57th Street and Fifth Avenue. Cipullo’s first stop was the workshop of David Webb, a favorite among the mid-century beau monde. Webb, who was one of America’s most influential and best-loved jewelry designers, became a mentor for the new arrival, advising him to call himself a designer despite his bench jeweler job description.
Tiffany & Co. came next. Cipullo alighted at the design studio in 1964, becoming — along with Sonia Younis, Don Berg and Donald Claflin — part of a youthquake that brought fresh ideas to the stately American brand.
At Tiffany, Cipullo came into his own as a designer with an original point of view, developing a facility across a broad swathe of motifs and inspirations that included lifelike florals, stylized African animals and masks, modern geometries — and hardware, expressed in a series of key-shaped brooches that offer the first glimpse of a theme he would return to later. By the end of the 1960s, he was designing some of Tiffany’s crown jewels, pieces in its Blue Book high-jewelry collection, often using lapis, coral or turquoise. These colorful opaque gems were among the materials that would become hallmarks of his work.
According to the designer’s brother Renato Cipullo — a coauthor with jewelry journalist Vivienne Becker on Cipullo: Making Jewelry Modern (Assouline) — when the term of a two-year contract with Tiffany neared its end in 1969, the brand passed on a gold bracelet design Aldo presented to the house. Though Tiffany wasn’t ready to raise Cipullo’s profile, another suitor would soon pick up the piece and give it, and in turn Cipullo, a major public platform. He struck a deal with Michael Thomas, president of Cartier New York, to carry some of his designs — including the new bracelet — exclusively.
Becker recounts the history of the Cartier Love bracelet in the book: Cipullo frequently said that the Love bracelet was born of a sleepless night contemplating a love affair gone wrong and his realization that “the only remnants he possessed of the romance were memories.” He distilled the urge to keep a loved one close into a slim 18-karat gold bangle. The Love bracelet combined hardware with elements of symbolic Victorian jewelry and the chastity belt, plus the ritual of meaningful adornment.
The bracelet, along with its designer, was just the tonic that Cartier needed at the start of the 1970s, a moment when the venerable brand was seeking an injection of youthful jet-set glamour. Cipullo’s winning streak with the brand continued, even as he designed for his own studio, Aldo Cipullo Ltd., which he established in the early part of the decade.
The Love design — which also yielded a ring and a necklace — was not Cipullo’s sole hardware-inspired jewelry for Cartier; his unisex Juste un Clou (“just a nail”) bracelet takes the form of a curved nail. When he died, at the age of 48, from a double heart attack, Cipullo was only getting started. Nevertheless, he left a profound legacy.
Find vintage Aldo Cipullo jewelry today on 1stDibs.
- Modernist Bold Double Stand Pearl Necklace with Lapis, Gold and Diamond ClaspsLocated in New York, NYThese very chic double strand pearls are a fine creamy rose luster and are approximately 7 mm and have 188 pearls joined by two 18k yellow gold clasps set with lapis and 6 round cut ...Category
Antique 1870s Italian Modernist Beaded Necklaces
MaterialsDiamond, Lapis Lazuli, Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold
- Italian Modernist Slide Pendant with Ancient Roman Figurative Coin in 18kt goldLocated in New York, NYThis ancient Roman coin was set in a 18k yellow gold slide in Italy, circa 1970- fusing the ancient and the modern. The piece offers stepped ribbed detailing giving added dimension t...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Modernist Necklace Enhancers
Materials18k Gold
- La Triomphe Tear Drop Lapis and Round Brilliant Diamond 18 Karat Gold PendantBy La TriompheLocated in New York, NYThis stunning necklace was hand crafted by the esteemed French jewelry atelier, La Triomphe, circa 1970. It features a teardrop lapis circumscribed by textured 18k yellow gold resemb...Category
Vintage 1970s French Modern Pendant Necklaces
MaterialsDiamond, Lapis Lazuli, 18k Gold
- Antique Guilloche Ruby Enamel, Diamond and 18 Karat Yellow Gold Lapel WatchLocated in New York, NYThis elegant antique lapel was realized in France, circa 1860. It features a circular pendant composed of 18kt yellow gold with crescent moon and star inlaid in starburst guilloche r...Category
Antique 1860s French Early Victorian Brooches
MaterialsDiamond, 18k Gold
- Modernist Double Strand Pearl Bracelet with Lapis, Gold and Diamond ClaspLocated in New York, NYThis very sophisticated double strand pearl bracelet are fitted with 38 fine pearls of approximately 7 mm each in a lovely rose luster. It...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Modernist Beaded Bracelets
MaterialsDiamond, Lapis Lazuli, Pearl, 18k Gold
- Victorian Hourglass Form 14 Karat Gold Filigreed Brooch with Inlaid TurquoiseLocated in New York, NYThis elegant victorian brooch was realized in the United States, circa 1920. it features two ovoids that together create an hourglass shape that meet in the center at a diamond form....Category
Antique 1880s American High Victorian Brooches
MaterialsTurquoise, 14k Gold
- Leo Lapis Lazuli Gold Pendant CharmLocated in New York, NYLarge circular charm. The center is lapis lazuli, with a rope edge border. Applied in the center is a proud lion. A three-dimensional star is applied on the reverse side. 1 1/2" ...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian More Jewelry
MaterialsLapis Lazuli, 18k Gold
- French Lapis Lazuli 18K Yellow Gold Charm PendantLocated in London, GBAn antique French 18 karat (18K) yellow gold charm pendant designed as an oval frame with engraved decoration and traces of blue enamel, set to each side with an oval lapis lazuli ta...Category
Antique 19th Century French Pendant Necklaces
MaterialsLapis Lazuli, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
- Aldo Cipullo Gold and Diamond Noose CharmBy Aldo CipulloLocated in New York, NYFigural "noose" charm, set with a faceted diamond. Made and signed by ALDO CIPULLO. 18K yellow gold. 1 1/3" x 1/2." Can be worn as a charm or pendant. A most unique and compel...Category
Vintage 1970s American More Jewelry
MaterialsDiamond, Gold, 18k Gold
- Blue Sand Stone, Lapis Lazuli and Watermelon Blue Beads with 3 CharmsLocated in Montreux, VDThis beautiful fashion blue sand stone, lapis lazuli and watermelon blue beads with 3charms: dragon, square evil eye and rainbow evil eye can be used as an accessory for a phone, han...Category
2010s Swiss More Jewelry
MaterialsLapis Lazuli
- Capricorn Zodiac Diamond Lapis Gold PendantLocated in New York, NYBig, beautiful and unique Capricorn pendant/charm: large oval lapis, with vivid coloring and fine gold marble markings, set in a gold rim. Applie...Category
Vintage 1960s Unknown Pendant Necklaces
MaterialsDiamond, Lapis Lazuli, Gold, 18k Gold
- Sterling Pisces Unique Pendant/CharmLocated in New York, NYLarge, heavy, most unusual "Pisces" pendant/charm. On the front are two applied dimensional intertwined fish, with "Pisces" spelled out in raised letters. On the back, in script: "P...Category
Vintage 1960s American More Jewelry
MaterialsSterling Silver