Suzanne Belperron

Suzanne Belperron

Suzanne Belperron refused to sign her pieces, stating, “My style is my signature”—and thus, her name was largely forgotten by the time she died in 1983. But from 1919 to 1975, the Parisian designer created some of the most original jewelry of the 20th century, setting precious stones in carved rock crystal, chalcedony, and even wood. Her organic shapes and global motifs adorned the most fashionable women of the day, including the Duchess of Windsor, Diana Vreeland, Josephine Baker, and Elsa Schiaparelli. Since the 1987 auction of the Duchess of Windsor’s jewels, the value of Belperron designs has steeply escalated and they have become highly collectible.

Suzanne Belperron

Suzanne Belperron occupies a special place in jewelry history as perhaps the most influential and important female jewelry designer of all time. She got her start as a designer for the Parisian firm René Boivin, where she was responsible for some of the firm’s most innovative ideas. In 1932, Bernard Herz, a Parisian stone dealer, recognized her avant-garde talent and hired Belperron to design for herself under the B. Herz name. Garnering reviews ranging from “brilliant” to “barbaric,” Belperron’s creations adorned many of the most fashionable women of the day. Famously never signing her pieces –” my style is my signature,” she would say – Belperron’s originality continuously kept the firm on the cutting edge until her retirement 1974.

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