9 Rue de la Paix

Elegant Retro Style Diamond Clip, Mellerio Dits Meller, Paris, c. 1945

€ 6,980.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

Elegant Retro Style Diamond Clip, Mellerio Dits Meller, Paris, c. 1945

Description

This description was automatically translated from German. If you have any questions about this piece of jewellery, we will be happy to help!

This clip takes us on a journey to Paris. The famous workshops of the jeweler Mellerio dits Meller, which have been in the family without interruption since 1613, are still located at 9 Rue de la Paix, near Place Vendôme. Since 1815, the workshop and its original salesrooms have been located in the Rue de la Paix. Mellerio supplied not only Maria de Medici and Marie Antoinette, but also Empress Joséphine and Marie-Amélie, the wife of Luis-Philippe. And even after the end of the monarchy, the company remained a guarantee for the best workmanship and designs. Even in the economically difficult 1940s, wonderful treasures were created: The clip is a wonderful testimony to this. We see an impressively large nib made of warm, gleaming gold and platinum. The left side of the nib is made of slightly reddish gold. The individual elements of the nib are polished smooth and set close together. Individual diamonds set the tips of the bows; twisted cords accompany the wider sections of gold. The right-hand part of the nib, on the other hand, is covered in platinum, in which diamonds are set close together. Smooth, shiny sections are juxtaposed with areas set with diamonds, contrasting cool brilliance with warm reflections. The fact that diamonds are set here in various old cuts, significantly older than the brooch itself, shows that older pieces of jewelry were obviously reworked into this brooch - surely a tribute to the time of its creation. However, the design is completely in keeping with the times: it is the so-called "retro style" that we see here. Warm colors and shiny surfaces had replaced the cool, icy Art Deco of the 1920s from the 1930s onwards. The brooch is signed. Mellerio apparently produced different versions of feather clips. David Bennett/Daniela Mascetti, Understanding Jewellery (Woodbridge 2010), p. 381, shows a clip with a completely different design, but also made of gold, platinum and diamonds. Further examples can be found in Sylvie Raulet, Schmuckel der 40er & 50er Jahre (Munich 1987), p. 65. We discovered the brooch in Munich. It is in very good condition.

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One of the most beautiful and typical pieces of Art Deco jewelry is the clip. Cartier, Boucheron and Van Cleef and Arpels produced extravagant, precious pieces, mostly set with diamonds, in Paris from the late 1920s onwards, and goldsmiths all over the world soon followed suit. The special thing about this new type of brooch was that it could no longer be worn just on the lapel, but anywhere on the dress, on the belt, on the bag and even in the hair. Often worn as a pair, but also individually, they could be used to create surprising accents that were previously impossible. At the time of their introduction, the shape of the clips was initially flat and the surfaces were richly set with diamonds. During the 1930s, increasingly voluminous, geometric shapes came into fashion. Yellow gold also replaced the previously favored white gold, in line with the general trend of Art Deco. Towards the end of the 1930s, one last innovation before the upheaval of the Great War was the redesign of the back mount. Whereas previously a single large plate with a spring mechanism had been fitted here, two interconnected pins were now used. For the history of the clip, see David Bennett/Daniela Mascetti: Understanding Jewellery, Woodbridge 2010, pp. 322-325, with numerous illustrations.

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Size & Details

9 Rue de la Paix

€ 6,980.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

Our Promise

We want you to be 100% satisfied! For that reason, we examine, describe and photograph all of our jewellery with the utmost care.

You can rely on our years of experience in the trade and our expertise as a professional art historians for reviews of the antique jewellery. As a member of various trade organisations and the British Society of Jewellery Historians, we remain committed to the highest possible degree of accuracy. In our descriptions, we always also indicate any signs of age and defects and never hide them in our photos – this saves you from any unpleasant surprises when your package arrives.

Should you for some reason not be satisfied, please don’t hesitate to contact us so that we can find a solution together. In any case, you can return any article within one month and we will refund the full purchase price.

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9 Rue de la Paix

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