TIFFANY & CO. 1980 Paloma Picasso Lapis Necklace Pendant 18Kt Gold & Diamonds

Pendant-travel clock designed by Augustin Julia-Plana. This is a beautiful modernist pendant-watch, created in Switzerland in the 1960's by the Swiss based Spanish jeweler-artist Augustin Julia-Plana. This unique and useful piece of jewelry was crafted by the Simon Schlegel and Yves Saint Blaise company in solid in solid yellow gold of 18 karats with textured finish. The pendant is fitted at the reverse with a concealed ring bale to hang into a chain and a retractable hinged stand to display in a desk or table. The design is composed by forty-one oval elements, irregularly placed and embellished with oval flat cabochons carved from natural Afghani blue lapis lazuli. The watch is an open face with a round dial of 30 mm carved from non-spotted blue lapis lazuli. Designer: Augustin Julia-Plana Country: Switzerland. Period: Modernism, 1960's. Manufacturer: Yves Saint Blaise Retailer: Mappin & Webb Lapis Lazuli: Mount in bezel settings, with 41 oval flat cabochon cuts carved from natural Afghani blue lapis lazuli with a weight of about 65 carats. Weight: 69.65 grams, (44.65 Dwt.). Measurements: Diameter of 58 mm (2.28 inches). Hallmarks: Stamped with Swiss marks; the maker's mark, the mark for the assay of the 18kt gold, the five-digits reference numbers, the marks for Simon Schlegel and Yves Saint Blaise and signed in full as follows, "MAPPIN & WEBB SWISS YS-12625". Augustin Julia-Plana Augustin Julia-Plana was born in Mataro, near Barcelona, in 1934. In his youth, he was a talented track and field athlete, and in 1954 was the Spanish 4 x 400m relay champion. After military service, he attended art school and then decided to go abroad to pursue his career. In 1963 he joined the Swiss jewelers Simon Schlegel, in Bern, before formally partnering with Schlegel in 1968 as Schlegel & Plana. Julia-Plana and Schlegel enjoyed a successful partnership together, designing and producing jewels for several established European firms, amongst them the French firm of Aldebert, and the Dutch firm of Bonebakker, as well as for watch firms such as Clerc and Yves Saint Blaise. They also counted fashionable women of high society amongst their clients, with Princess Soraya of Iran reportedly being a patron. Julia-Plana was known for using unusual materials in his designs, such as wood, meteorite, maw sit sit, and oxidized iron, selecting materials for their innate beauty rather than monetary value. He won several awards during his career, including multiple German jewelry awards, and four Diamonds International Awards. The De Beers Diamonds International Awards, which began in 1954, was considered the ‘Oscars’ of the jewelry industry, and rewarded beauty, originality, and imaginative use of materials. Julia-Plana won his first Diamonds International Awards in 1965, for a ‘V’ shaped bracelet of structured gold links decorated with diamonds, and won the award a second time in 1967, for a bracelet of shell shaped links, set with diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. In 1969 he won the award for two separate designs, one ring set with diamonds and lapis lazuli cubes, and one brooch with tiger’s eye plates and diamonds, and in the same year gained membership of the Diamonds International Academy, joining fellow designers such as Andrew Grima and Gilbert Albert. Julia-Plana's unique and highly regarded designs are rare to see and can be found in the collections of tiffany & co. among others Swiss jewelry houses, with the watchmaker Simon Schlegel and Yves Saint Blaise, as well as under his own name and always are unique pieces. Julia-Plana tragically died at the height of his career in 1979, at age 45, of heart failure. As a note, Julia-Plana's unique and highly regarded designs are rare to see and can be found in the collections of tiffany & co. among others Swiss jewelry houses, with the watchmaker Simon Schlegel and Yves Saint Blaise, as well as under his own name and always are unique pieces, never mass produced. Collateral: This Augustin Julia-Plana watch...

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