Many Faceted

  • Home
  • Jewelry
  • Gems
  • About
  • Contact

Inspiration Book: Belperron, Ippolita

May 18, 2012 By Danielle

Jewels from the Personal Collection of Suzanne Belperron: Chalcedony and Sapphire Ring, circa 1935
Chalcedony and Sapphire Ring, circa 1935

In addition to my hoard of gemstone photos found on the internet (I have gobs, I tell you… GOBS OF PHOTOS), I collect photos of jewelry I find inspiring. If I like the materials, the stones, the settings, or the style, I file it away for later oggling. (I oggle a lot. I think oggling is sorta standard, in the gem and jewelry industry.)

Earlier this week, Sotheby’s auctioned off jewelry from the personal collection of Suzanne Belperron, a French designer who never signed her work (her style was her signature, she said.) A lot of things about her work appeal to me. It looks approachable, wearable; she mixes fine gems with common ones (a diamond set in a solid rock crystal ring, for instance, or the ring shown here, a sapphire set in blue chalcedony.) There’s something very clean, deceptively simple about her designs. I can dig it. (And I want this book on her work.)

Jewels from the Personal Collection of Suzanne Belperron: Gem Set and Diamond Bracelet, circa 1935
Gem Set and Diamond Bracelet, circa 1935

I love this piece because it reminds me of my favorite strung bracelet, chock full of gems — my gems are certainly not as nice as these, but still! It looks like a happy bracelet, very fun to wear. And check out what’s on it:

Set with polished beads such as amethyst, pink tourmaline, citrine, emerald, sapphire and ruby, to an annular clasp partly decorated with rose diamonds, length approximately 185mm.

I love it, and if I were the winning bidder of this piece, I’d wear it every day! (Sadly, I’m not.)

Finally, this Ippolita Starry Night collection from late 2011 hits all my buttons: labradorite – faceted! Why faceted? There’s no reason to facet labradorite, but I love it! Also the crystal and geometric shapes, the celestial colors… and yeah, the name helps. What can I say? I’d happily wear the whole stack of bangles pictured below.

Starry Night collection by Ippolita

Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: bracelets, celestial, chalcedony, ippolita, labradorite, rings, sapphire, suzanne belperron

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

My Other Jewelry Blog

  • Topazius Celebrating ancient jewelry (and archaeological-revival styles) — visual archives and occasional articles.

Subscribe by Email

Enter your information to receive new posts from Many Faceted via email. Convenient and sparkly!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

My Other Jewelry Blog

  • Topazius Celebrating ancient jewelry (and archaeological-revival styles) — visual archives and occasional articles.

Favorite Haunts

  • Antique Jewelry University
  • Gemological Institute of America
  • Gemology Online
  • GO Forums
  • Lang Antiques
  • The Ganoksin Project

GIA Alumni Association

Roxy Ann Gem & Mineral Society

Copyright © 2023 by Danielle Rose · Disclosure Policy · Dreamhost