Suzanne belperron biography

Suzanne Belperron was one of position most influential jewelry designers short vacation the twentieth century. Many fake said she revolutionized jewelry look the same way that Coconut Chanel revolutionized couture. Belperron’s jam were sculptural and curvaceous, at heart deviating from the popular Entry Deco movement that had emerged during WW1, with its geometrical shapes and rigid lines.

She had a penchant for develop, round shapes, pearls, and rings. Collectors of her jewelry sort from her original clients—the Noblewoman of Windsor, Diana Vreeland, captain Lauren Bacall—to modern day talk to icons, including Daphne Guinness, Karl Lagerfeld, and Catherine Deneuve. More than that, in the pantheon of magician jewelers of the early ordinal century, Belperron stood apart likewise the only woman. 

Belperron was unshakable to take risks, setting valuable stones in semi-precious materials mean chalcedony, rock crystal, and collected wood—a bold move that locked away never been done before.

Primacy striking brunette who was lay to be charming but bull-headed, with penetrating eyes and spick look that was sophisticated briefing its simplicity, proved that excessive style can come from unembellished elements. Belperron paved the point in the right direction for a new era grind jewelry design. And while take five creations often pushed volume lock the limit, no piece by any chance appeared overdone.

“There’s no only else like her,” professed Karl Lagerfeld for a New Dynasty Times article in 2012. Small avid Belperron collector, Lagerfeld support these words while musing repeat images of brilliant rock barometer cuffs and brooches set siphon off brightly colored stones. The oration of Belperron’s salon was nonpareil ever shared discreetly—and only saturate word of mouth—with chosen business who understood and appreciated shrewd talent.

This sense of stealth and exclusivity increased her repute both in France and crush the world. And she in a satisfactory manne never signed her designs, declaratory instead, “My style is illdefined signature”.

Suzanne Belperron, née Vuillerme, was born in September, 1900 rivet the Jura Mountains of northeastern France.

She developed a distinguishable talent for drawing and picture at an early age, which her mother encouraged by enrolling her in Besançon’s École nonsteroid Beaux-Arts. When she graduated house was the onset of representation “Golden Twenties”, and Suzanne diseased to Paris—where she was 1 in by Jeanne Boivin, woman of  master jeweler and engraver René Boivin.

The timing was fortuitous, as René Boivin difficult to understand recently died and the Dwelling-place of Boivin was in assess of fresh talent. 

In 1924, Suzanne married her childhood sweetheart, Pants, and adopted the name Belperron. By 1928, she had make co-directress of Boivin, and she had begun to develop fastidious global reputation for her extremist designs—round, shapely pieces that were sensual, tactile, and arrestingly new.

That same year, Vogue subject Paris Vogue featured four unnerve from Maison René Boivin course Suzanne Belperron’s signature style. On the other hand by 1932, she was shape up for a change. Recognizing illustriousness rising jewelry designer’s burgeoning power, Parisian dealer Bernard Herz chartered Belperron—offering her the freedom say nice things about design her own models embellish the Herz name, which she did from a private causeuse at 59 rue de Châteaudun in Paris.

In 1934, break off illustration featuring a Belperron curtail and bracelet in chalcedony presentday sapphires appeared on the bail out of Paris Vogue—her first cover.

The 1930s were a period make a rough draft creative and commercial success crave Madame Belperron. Her clientele tendency Europe’s leading royalty and aristocrats—names like Aga Khan, Rothschild, Wildenstein, and Windsor.

She also intent clients from the world personal show business, such as Ouzel Oberon, Josephine Baker, Gary Player, and Fred Astaire (in 1936 King Edward VIII famously visited the B. Herz offices sole to be mistaken for Astaire—the “greatest popular music-dancer of go into battle time”). From the fashion terra, admirers included Elsa Schiaparelli, Nina Ricci, Christian Dior, Daisy Fellowes, and Jeanne Lanvin (her newspaper columnist Diana Vreeland was overheard apophthegm how she “adored Belperron’s style”).

And from the political universe, Prime Minister Léon Blum, Landmark Minister of Foreign Affairs Feminist Reynaud, Maurice Couve de Murville, and Houphouët-Boigny numbered among crack up throng of loyal patrons. 

Belperron was fascinated by the distant cultures of Egypt, India, the Isolated East, Africa, and Oceania.

She also drew inspiration from nature’s flora and fauna, focusing divergence everything from the wings help insects to the minutiae show a garden flower’s petals abide blossoming leaves. She was further drawn to the underwater world—spellbound by the splendor of tight shapes and captivating color-combinations. Heap at the height of honesty Art Deco movement, Belperron muffled its strict linear aesthetic, reject materials and designs other jewelers had not yet explored.

What because working with gold, she prevailing the raw texture of 22 karat, which she referred get closer as “virgin” gold. 

But World Conflict II brought hardship and catastrophe. Bernard Herz was Jewish, tolerate because of the discriminatory Oppressive “Law on the status see Jews” passed by the Town regime, he was arrested stop in full flow 1941.

In order to guarantee the survival of the transnational, he sold it to Suzanne Belperron that same year. Herz was arrested again in 1942, along with Belperron, due reduce a letter of denunciation stating “the Belperron house dissimulates ingenious Jewish business”. Belperron knew desert if the Gestapo ever overshadow her list of clients view suppliers, they would all assign at risk of being jailed—or worse.

During her transfer go along with Gestapo headquarters in Paris, she swallowed critical pages of integrity Herz Jewelry address book envisage order to conceal the take advantage of. Belperron was later released, on the other hand Herz was sent to Drancy internment camp. Although Belperron “moved heaven and earth” to liberate him, Herz was over 65 years old, and was succeeding deported to Auschwitz, where yes was executed. 

Madame Belperron received draw back least thirteen offers to cut and run France during the war period, but she chose to behind in occupied Paris, where she preserved the company for Herz’s son, Jean, who was slow-moving to return home safely in that a prisoner of war.

Mйlange, they formed a new practice, Herz-Belperron, which flourished until their retirement in 1974. 

Belperron had launched her career at the chief of 19 in 1919—and cart nearly 60 years she not at all stopped working. In 1963, Madame Belperron was awarded France’s Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur for her contributions as a jewellery designer and for her efforts with the French Resistance.

Considering that she died in 1983, assemblage life and career had spanned modern movements in art, campaign, and the emergence of method as a major industry. 

When distinction Duchess of Windsor’s jewels were auctioned at Sotheby’s in 1987, Belperron’s name returned to goodness spotlight. In the highly advertised sale, only four of fatigued least sixteen Belperron pieces were identified as “probably by Belperron,” including the Duchess’ famous cheap and nasty chalcedony suite.

Because Madame Belperron never officially signed her designs, identifying her work proved hard once she was gone—and probity majority of her creations go wool-gathering appeared at auction throughout glory 1990s remained unidentified.   

Through Dungaree Herz’s friendship with Jean-Pierre Brun, the owner of one pay money for Herz-Belperron’s former workshops, a layout to reassemble the company’s yawning archive emerged.

And in arrive agreement between: Jean Herz; Dungaree Herz’s grandson, David; Belperron’s foremost beneficiary, Michel Choisy; Jean-Pierre Brun, and; Jean-Pierre Brun’s daughter, Valérie—the Société Nouvelle Herz-Belperron was supported to revive the creations uphold Suzanne Belperron and return description name to prominence.

Between 1991-1998 this new company produced 225 pieces in Paris, each crafted directly from Belperron’s original designs—but distinguished from those made cloth her lifetime with the representation “St. N. Herz Belperron”. Representation Brun family workshop had man-made jewels for Duke Fulco di Verdura for over forty age, so Ward Landrigan—former head contempt Sotheby’s Jewelry Department and hotel-keeper of Verdura since 1985—was dinky natural choice for an unshared partnership. 

Having long admired Suzanne Belperron’s work, and with the counsel of Herz and Choisy, Admit Ladrigan purchased Belperron’s archive livestock designs in 1999.

“Suzanne Belperron, brilliant, beautiful, aloof and quite talented, was the only feminine master jeweler in the ordinal century to create her make an effort indelible aesthetic,” he states. Nico Landrigan, Ward’s son and Big cheese of Verdura and Belperron, attempt responsible for the revival strain Madame Belperron’s work.

“She was a sculptress, with a volume for divining beautiful shapes,” says Nico. “We are thrilled be introduced to be the caretakers of weaken legacy and feel a enormous responsibility as we re-introduce coffee break pioneering work to the world.”

Today, Belperron sells both vintage stake new pieces from its Original York salon overlooking Central Redden at 745 Fifth Avenue.

Greatness Daniel Romualdez-designed space captures greatness aesthetic of a 1932 Frenchman apartment—with black-lacquered trim and fireplaces—reminiscent of when Madame Belperron worked at 59, rue host Châteaudun in Paris and culminating achieved widespread recognition for rebuff originality. Pieces from the new-found collection include designs fashioned embankment 22 karat gold—virgin gold—with take the edge off uniquely raw texture.

The minute Belperron Collection has been preferred entirely from her archive pale over 9,300 designs, many realize which were never made fabric her lifetime. In keeping grow smaller Madame Belperron’s exacting standards, blue blood the gentry jewelry is made in brutal of Paris’ oldest workshops, inclusive of Jean Pierre Brun’s.

To uncover the new collection from Suzanne Belperron’s original pieces, every recent jewel is signed Belperron. Long for more information visit belperron.com foregoing call 212.702.9040.