Mastery of Design: The Pinecone Brooch, 1960

Brooch
Jean Schumberger, 1960
Tiffany & Co.
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This attractive brooch is of a more modern origin than the pieces which we usually examine onStalking the Belle Époque, but it has its roots in the designs of the late Victorian era. Jean Schlumberger of New York’s Tiffany & Co. designed this glittering gem in the form of a pair of pinecones--one is set with emeralds, and the other with sapphires. The pinecones are surmounted with diamond-set leaves.

During his career, Jean Schlumberger (1907-87) worked with Schiaparelli in Paris before joining Tiffany & Co. Schlumberger came by his love of gems naturally. He came from a family of textile manufacturers in Mulhouse (in eastern France). During this time, he grew to love studying combinations of colors and textures. Initially his mother and father urged young Jean toward a career in banking, however, in the 1930s, he began working for as a designer of costume jewelry for the couturier Elsa Schiaparelli in Paris. The Second World War led him to the French army and soon he made his way from England (to where he’d been evacuated) to New York.

Once in the United States, in 1947, he set up a small jewelry business with his childhood friend Nicolas Bongard. Their work quickly garnered much attention and soon Tiffany & Co. invited them to open a design studio and salon within the Tiffany New York store in 1956. To this day, many of Schlumberger’s designs are still produced by Tiffany & Co. and remain among their biggest sellers. 

The Home Beautiful: Tiffany & Co. Favrille, 1895

Favrile Vase
Tiffany & Co., 1895
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The term “Favrile” referred to Tiffany & Co's art-glass range, with the word stemming from “fabrile,” essentially an “Old English” term meaning, “Handmade.” The Favrile line was typified by its lustrous, opalescent look and its beautiful colors which came from incorporating colored canes of glass into the body of each piece. Metallic oxides and exposure to acid fumes lent to the luster of the glass.

This example, a vase designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933) was made by the Long Island-based Stourbridge Glass Company (Tiffany’s original enterprise which was launched in 1893 with Arthur J. Nash) and sold through the Tiffany Glass & Decorating Co. It dates to about 1895. 

The Home Beautiful: Tiffany & Co. Favrille, 1895

Favrile Vase
Tiffany & Co., 1895
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The term “Favrile” referred to Tiffany & Co's art-glass range, with the word stemming from “fabrile,” essentially an “Old English” term meaning, “Handmade.” The Favrile line was typified by its lustrous, opalescent look and its beautiful colors which came from incorporating colored canes of glass into the body of each piece. Metallic oxides and exposure to acid fumes lent to the luster of the glass.

This example, a vase designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933) was made by the Long Island-based Stourbridge Glass Company (Tiffany’s original enterprise which was launched in 1893 with Arthur J. Nash) and sold through the Tiffany Glass & Decorating Co. It dates to about 1895. 

Mastery of Design: The Tiffany & Co. Archaeological Pendant, 1880

Necklace and Pendant
Tiffany & Co, 1880
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In the late Nineteenth Century, across the U.S. and Europe, jewelry designers turned to the styles of the Ancients, basing new creations on then-recent archaeological discoveries.  One of the first firms to do this was the Italian Castellani family.

Other designers quickly followed suit.  This example comes from America and is the work of Tiffany & Co.  Dating to about 1880, this gold necklace and pendant was inspired by Roman and Etruscan jewelry.  Part of a suite, this necklace was accompanied by matching earrings.

Mastery of Design: The Jean Schlumberger Blue Flowers Brooch

The Victoria & Albert Museum

The famed jewelry designer Jean Schlumberger (1907-87) worked both with Schiaparelli in Paris and with Tiffany & Co. of New York.  Born into a family of textile manufacturers in Mulhouse in eastern France, Schlumberger’s family’s aspirations for his career inbanking were abandoned in the 1930s in favor of designing costume jewelry for the couturier Elsa Schiaparelli in Paris.


In New York, after the Second World War, he and his childhood friend Nicolas Bongard set up a small jewelry salon in 1947. The quality and beauty of their work prompted Tiffany & Co. to invite the pair to open a design studio and salon within the Tiffany New York store in 1956. Tiffany & Co. continues to produce many of Schlumberger’s designs to this day.


Here, we see an example of his fine work in this brooch in the form of a bunch of sapphire and diamond flowers bound by a diamond ribbon and bow.  It was made for Tiffany and Co. in New York in 1960.  

Mastery of Design: The Pinecone Brooch, 1960

Brooch
Jean Schumberger, 1960
Tiffany & Co.
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This attractive brooch is of a more modern origin than the pieces which we usually examine on Stalking the Belle Époque, but it has its roots in the designs of the late Victorian era. Jean Schlumberger of New York’s Tiffany & Co. designed this glittering gem in the form of a pair of pinecones--one is set with emeralds, and the other with sapphires. The pinecones are surmounted with diamond-set leaves.

During his career, Jean Schlumberger (1907-87) worked with Schiaparelli in Paris before joining Tiffany & Co. Schlumberger came by his love of gems naturally. He came from a family of textile manufacturers in Mulhouse (in eastern France). During this time, he grew to love studying combinations of colors and textures. Initially his mother and father urged young Jean toward a career in banking, however, in the 1930s, he began working for as a designer of costume jewelry for the couturier Elsa Schiaparelli in Paris. The Second World War led him to the French army and soon he made his way from England (to where he’d been evacuated) to New York.

Once in the United States, in 1947, he set up a small jewelry business with his childhood friend Nicolas Bongard. Their work quickly garnered much attention and soon Tiffany & Co. invited them to open a design studio and salon within the Tiffany New York store in 1956. To this day, many of Schlumberger’s designs are still produced by Tiffany & Co. and remain among their biggest sellers.