1970s Aldo Cipullo Carved Carnelian Jade Gold Link Necklace
View Similar Items
1970s Aldo Cipullo Carved Carnelian Jade Gold Link Necklace
About the Item
- Creator:
- Metal:
- Stone:
- Weight:176 g
- Dimensions:Width: 1.5 in (38.1 mm)Length: 21.5 in (546.1 mm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1970s
- Condition:
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU148801892
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.
- 2015 Kenneth James Carved Lapis Carnelian Gold Link BraceletLocated in New York, NYFrom the 2015 Kenneth James Collection, one of our own luxurious Limited Edition bracelet designs comprised of bold 18K gold crescents set with alternat...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Link Bracelets
MaterialsCarnelian, Lapis Lazuli, 18k Gold
- 1970s Patek Phillipe Five Piece Modernist Gold Enamel Jewelry SuiteBy Patek PhilippeLocated in New York, NYA superb and extremely stylish 1970s 5 piece jewelry suite by Patek Phillippe of 18K gold and recessed black enamel including necklace, bracelet, ear clips, ring, and brooch/pendant. Total weight 315 grams. Disks measure 3/4 inch x 1 inch. Necklace 28 inches. Bracelet 7 1/4 inches. Brooch has double pin back and hinged bale. Ring size 10. Gold and makers marks. All signed. This one-of-a-kind suite was a 1970s custom order by Princess Zora Jurisic-Makaeff (1922-2014) born in what today is Croatia. Once a classically trained opera singer, her husbands included inventor Felix Lorand; English Lord...Category
Vintage 1970s Swiss Modernist Link Necklaces
Materials18k Gold
- 1970s Cindy Royce Black Jade Gold Drop EarringsBy Cindy RoyceLocated in New York, NYFashionably large scale 1970s Cindy Royce drop earrings of 18K gold designed as a fret of opposing spirals with an exotic hand textured finish suspended from diamond-shaped carved ...Category
Vintage 1970s American Dangle Earrings
Materials18k Gold
- Gucci Alligator Finish Large Gold Ball NecklaceBy GucciLocated in New York, NYA bold and stunning Gucci necklace of linked 1 inch 18K gold balls with a recessed alligator finish. 18 inches long. Gold mark, Gucci mark, and Italy. 127.7 grams.Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Link Necklaces
Materials18k Gold
- Carved Black Jade and Diamond Gold Ear ClipsLocated in New York, NYA perfectly elegant pair of 18K gold ear clips set with hand carved black jade curved elements complimented by diamond accents suitable for occasions...Category
Vintage 1980s Unknown Clip-on Earrings
MaterialsDiamond, 18k Gold
- Tiffany & Co. Diamond Black Jade Gold Cuff Link Stud SetBy Tiffany & Co.Located in New York, NYA handsome and elegant Tiffany & Co. man's dress set of cuff links and three shirt studs of 18K gold, set with diamonds and sections of carved black jade. 3/4 inch at widest. 1.10 grams. Tiffany and...Category
Vintage 1980s American Cufflinks
MaterialsDiamond, Jade, 18k Gold
- Aldo Cipullo Vintage Blue Agate Carnelian Link NecklaceBy Aldo CipulloLocated in New York, NYStep into the realm of timeless elegance with Aldo Cipullo's masterful creation, a long necklace that epitomizes the designer's ingenuity and commitment to pushing the boundaries of ...Category
20th Century American Link Necklaces
MaterialsAgate, Carnelian, 18k Gold
- Aldo Cipullo Gold Link 36" Heart Closure Chain NecklaceBy Aldo CipulloLocated in Greenwich, CTWear your love on a chain for all to see with this Aldo Cipullo iconic link modernist 18 karat gold 36" chain necklace with heart closure. Signed A. Cipullo. Circa 1975.Category
Vintage 1970s French Modernist Link Necklaces
MaterialsGold, 18k Gold
- Mother of Pearl Carved Antiques Jade Carnelian 18 Karat Gold NecklaceBy Giulia ColussiLocated in Milan, ITMother of Pearls BI with carved antiques cinese jade and Carnelian 18kt Gold gr 13,70. Total length 47cm adjustable. All Giulia Colussi jewelry is new and has never been previously ...Category
2010s Italian Artist Link Necklaces
MaterialsCarnelian, Jade, 18k Gold, Gold
- Jade Carnelian Gold Long Chain NecklaceLocated in Darnestown, MDUnusual gold with carnelian and jade necklace. The elongated gold links alternate with rectangles of the two stones. Four lacy carved medallions of jade are a wonderful contrast to t...Category
Vintage 1960s Unknown Chain Necklaces
MaterialsJade, 18k Gold
- A.Cipullo Collar Link Necklace, 18k Yellow GoldBy CipulloLocated in New York, NYThis collar necklace, designed by A. Cipullo, showcases an elegant geometric design. Handcrafted in luxurious 18k yellow gold, it lies flat against the collarbone, suspended by a cha...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Art Deco Link Necklaces
MaterialsGold, Yellow Gold
- Aldo Cipullo for Cartier 18K Gold and Sodalite "Rounds" NecklaceBy Aldo Cipullo for CartierLocated in New York, NYDesigned in 1972 by Aldo Cipullo as part of the "Rounds" collection, this Cartier necklace is composed of 18k gold and sodalite . It is designed as trace link chain highlighted by sh...Category
Late 20th Century American Link Necklaces
MaterialsGold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold