Suzanne Belperron

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Suzanne Belperron (* 26. September 1900 as Madeleine Suzanne Marie Claire Vuillerme in Saint-Claude , Jura , † 28. March 1983 in Paris ) was a French jewelry - designer .

Suzanne Belperron on her balcony in Paris, in a silk kimono
(Olivier Baroin Archives)

biography

childhood

Belperron was born on September 26, 1900 in Saint-Claude, the daughter of Jules Alix Vuillerme (1861–1931) and Marie Clarisse Faustine Bailly-Maître (1866–1931).

To keep themselves busy during the long winter months, the inhabitants of the Jura had developed a wide range of traditional crafts over the centuries, including the technique of cutting gemstones. Between 1885 and 1929, the city of Saint-Claude was one of the most important global centers in the world for diamond cutting.

Suzanne's mother, who had recognized her daughter's talent as a draftsman at an early stage, registered her at the University of Fine Arts in Besançon . This public school was founded in 1773 by the Swiss painter Melchior Wyrsch and the French sculptor Luc Breton. In 1917/18 Belperron received first prize in the university's annual decorative arts competition . A recognition for her years of study on the "decoration of watches and jewelry".

An avant-garde artist in the Boivin house

After completing her studies, she moved to Paris, at that time the center of international jewelery art. In March 1919 she was hired as a jewelry designer by Jeanne Boivin, René Boivin's widow . The Boivin House was founded in 1890 and had lost its founder René Boivon, a talented draftsman and engraver, in 1917. Belperron was quickly successful. As early as 1920, many pieces of jewelry appeared in the Boivin collection that she had designed in 1917 while still a student. At that time, her jewelry with its voluminous and curved shapes contrasted with the Art Deco style that was prevalent at the time with its preference for geometrical and structured figures.

Suzanne was always seen by Jeanne Boivin as "a little like her own child" and she realized that she played an important role in the artistic life of the René Boivin house. Belperron remained childless and devoted himself entirely to creativity and developing the company's international reputation. In 1924, at the age of 23, she was appointed co-director of the house.

On July 11, 1924, she married the engineer Jean Belperron (* 1889 in Dôle ). The couple moved to the Montmartre district at 49, rue Lamarck. There she met, in a studio of the expressionist painter Gen Paul, the writer Louis-Ferdinand Céline , the actors Arletty and Robert le Vigan, and the playwright René Fauchois. Suzanne Belperron was considered a full-fledged artist. She was adored by customers and recognized by suppliers. It was believed at the time that after thirteen years she was experiencing a sense of frustration as her work was not marketed under her name and she did not receive public recognition as jewelers usually insisted on the anonymity of their designers. Works by designers such as Charles Jacqueau and Peter Lemarchand for Cartier , or René Sim Lacaze for Van Cleef & Arpels were also affected.

1930s

In February 1932, Suzanne Belperron decided to leave René Boivin's house. Juliette Moutard, who previously worked for the luxury watch manufacturer Verger Frères, succeeded her in 1933. Germaine Boivin, daughter of Jeanne and René Boivin, previously worked as a fashion designer for the well-known fashion designer, her uncle, Paul Poiret . After the Poiret house closed in 1929, she first created her own fashion collection and only joined the Boivin house in 1938.

In March 1932, Suzanne Belperron accepted an offer from Bernard Herz (1877–1943) and became "the exclusive, artistic and technical director" of the Herz house. Both had known each other for years, as the renowned Parisian pearl and gemstone dealer was a supplier to Boivin. After setting up her private salon at 59, rue de Chateaudun in Paris, she worked with the gemstone cutter Adrien Louart (1890–1989). The Atelier Groëné et Darde eventually became their exclusive manufacturer.

During the 1930s, the original creations by Suzanne Belperron contributed to the Bernard Herz’s growing international reputation. Her notoriety grew and Suzanne Belperron became an important figure in the artistic world, both in France and abroad. She realized avant-garde jewelry, which found great sales among the aristocrats. Her creations were worthy of the greatest jewelers like Cartier , Boucheron, Van Cleef & Arpels and were featured almost every month in the pages of the luxury fashion magazines Vogue and Harper's Bazaar , in constant collaboration with the two photographers George Hoyningen-Huene and Horst P. Horst . Her friend Diana Vreeland , editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar from 1937 to 1962, then editor-in-chief of Vogue, admired the artist's style. The pieces of jewelry by Suzanne Belperron were indispensable for the clothes of the great fashion designers, for example Coco Chanel , Elsa Schiaparelli , Lucien Lelong , Louise Boulanger or Augusta Bernard .

In July 1939, Suzanne received an offer for an artistic collaboration from the New York jeweler Paul Flato, which she declined.

"My style is my signature"

As a great color artist, Suzanne Belperron had the talent to play with the aesthetic influences of all origins and with all of the nature-inspired motifs that made her work.

Suzanne Belperron was fascinated by the arts and distant cultures of the Orient (especially the Assyrian culture): India, the Far East (China, Japan), Africa and Oceania. In the autumn of 1923 she had therefore spent her engagement trip in Egypt.

Nature with its floral diversity and the underwater world were sources of inspiration for her. She was fascinated by their diverse colors and magnificent shapes. The combination of different colors and materials resulted in endless variations. Contrary to the current creations of the Art Deco era, whose jewelery was mostly angular and often set in platinum with diamonds, Belperron chose colored stones, used softer shapes and created innovative pieces of jewelery from previously little researched materials such as rock crystal, chalcedony and carnelian , that other jewelry designers didn't use. They also used a 22-karat gold, which was a softer karat level than usual, but which was often used for its pure color.

Her guiding principle has always been "My style is my signature". She considered her jewelry to be original, so it was easy to identify and there was no need to put a signature on it.

Second World War

Since Bernard Herz was of Jewish origin , he was interrogated several times by the Gestapo at the beginning of the occupation of Paris . Once, with the help of her friend Rika Radifié, the wife of actor Harry Baur , Suzanne Belperron managed to free him from Gestapo detention. Because of the anti-Semitic laws enacted by the Vichy regime , Suzanne took over the management of the Bernard Herz house in 1940 to ensure its continued existence. After Bernard Herz was arrested, on January 23, 1941, on behalf of Herz, Suzanne Belperron had a GmbH listed in the commercial register under the name "Suzanne Belperron SARL". She started with a capital of 700,000 francs that her friend Marcel Coard had lent her. Henri Guiberteau was their partner. Suzanne knew that the future of the house rests on her shoulders alone. Throughout the war, she worked tirelessly, despite the difficulties of obtaining material for new pieces of jewelry.

As a result of a denunciation, Suzanne Belperron and Bernard Herz were arrested by the Gestapo on November 2, 1942 and taken to Paris Avenue Foch for interrogation. Herz was immediately taken to the Drancy assembly camp, from where he was deported on September 2, 1943 in convoy no. 59 to the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp . Suzanne Belperron was asked by the Gestapo to provide official documents proving her origin and the denomination of her parents. During the war, Suzanne joined the Resistance . Later, in 1956, one of her relatives, the resistance fighter and novelist André Chamson , was accepted into the French Academy . Belperrone provided the design for the obligatory sword in the knight's uniform.

After the war

In his last letter, dated February 21, 1943 and sent from the concentration camp in Drancy, Bernard Herz entrusted his company, his will and the care of his children, Aline and Jean, to Suzanne Belperron. On June 11, 1946, his son Jean was released from captivity and returned to Paris. Following the last will of his father, he founded a new company with Suzanne with an equal share: "Jean Herz-Suzanne Belperron SARL".

At the beginning of 1945, Suzanne left Montmartre and moved to number 14 on rue d'Aumale in Paris, not far from the reception rooms of the Herz-Belperron house. Her apartment was in a neoclassical building and was designed by the French designer Marcel Coard (1889–1975).

Haute couture for a glamorous clientele

In her salon on the third floor of rue de Chateaudun in Paris, which was decorated by Marcel Coard, Suzanne Belperron welcomed her customers only by appointment. The only way of getting the address was word of mouth.

The piece of jewelry should be a reflection of the personality of the wearer. That is why Suzanne asked about the lifestyle of her customers before each order. She took into account the shape of the face, the shade of the skin, and the shape of the hands. Belperron acted like a haute couture designer .

Caring for perfection that left nothing to chance, Suzanne Belperron followed every stage of production like a workshop master. To this end, she had a daily meeting with the manager of the Groëne et Darde workshop . This company was renamed Darde et fils in 1955, later renamed Darde et Cie from 1970 to 1973. At that time she also worked with Adrien Louart, a gemstone cutter.

Her jewels were worn by a wealthy clientele, from maharajas to European aristocrats, from industrial tycoons to Hollywood stars, from financiers to artists. The big courts in Europe were her customers, including the Aga Khan dynasty, Rothschild , Wildenstein , celebrities from the art world and celebrities such as Joséphine Baker , Gary Cooper , Christian Dior , Daisy Fellowes , Mona von Bismarck, Adele Astaire , the English actress Merle Oberon , Hélène Beaumont and the architect Robert Mallet-Stevens . Politicians such as Paul Reynaud , Léon Blum , Maurice Couve de Murville , Gaston Palewski or Ms. Houphouët-Boigny and friends such as Colette , Elsa Schiaparelli , Nina Ricci , Jeanne Lanvin and Jean Cocteau were among her customers.

End of career

On July 12, 1963, Suzanne Belperron was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Legion of Honor.

In 1970, Suzanne Belperron and her partner Jean Herz decided at the general meeting on June 28, 1974 to amicably dissolve their company. On December 31, 1975 the Herz-Belperron company was liquidated. This decision did not mean the end of her professional career for Suzanne Belperron. Her old customers kept in touch with her, and Suzanne Beleperron estimated the monetary value of the jewelry for her customers, which came from inheritances, served as insurance or were to be donated to museums. However, she declined all proposals for a collaboration (including from Tiffany & Co. ) to continue her jewelry collection.

Suzanne Belperron died in an accident on March 28, 1983 at the age of eighty-two. Childless, she left her property to a close friend.

Forgetting and rebirth

The 1987 Windsor Jewelery Auction

Despite the popularity of her design in her own time, the name "Belperron" was largely forgotten until the prestigious jewelry auction of the jewels of Wallis Simpson , better known as the Duchess of Windsor, hosted by Sotheby’s in Geneva on April 2-3, 1987 . During this auction, only five of 16 Belperron items were properly cataloged.

New edition of the jewelry by Suzanne Belperron

The work of Suzanne Belperron was brought to life through the sale of the jewels that belonged to the Duchess of Windsor and eventually recognized and valued.

In June 1991 the “Société Nouvelle Herz-Belperron” GmbH was founded in Paris. This company had a single, exclusive American customer, a New York jeweler. He ordered new editions, that is, modern pieces of jewelry. These reproductions were made in Paris and contained "the French essay marks", then were exported and sold in New York.

The Société Nouvelle Herz-Belperron was liquidated on December 28, 1998.

Discovery of her personal archives in 2007

Exposure of personal archives (Discovered in 2007) by Suzanne Belperron - Sotheby's Paris - January 24, 2012

In 2007 the universal heir to Suzanne Belperron died. Through the succession, a new heir became the owner of Suzanne Belperron's estate, including her archives.

It was rumored that Suzanne Belperron burned her archives. The new universal heir discovered her small apartment, the doors of which were closed until 1983. This apartment contained Suzanne Belperron's furniture, her library, and all of the archives: a large collection of drawings, sketches, models, drafts, professional correspondence, diaries, daily order books from 1937 to 1974, photos and countersigned newspaper articles. This discovery is vital to guarantee the authenticity and traceability of your work, which simple drawings could not allow.

The deceased heir and longtime friend of Suzanne honored the artist's will until his death: to guarantee the confidentiality of her archives and to maintain respect for her customers.

The archives reveal that many things that have been written about Suzanne Belperron, since she was considered a discreet and mysterious woman, were without foundation. They also confirm that there was a plan for an art book about their work, but it was never realized. Hans Nadelhoffer (1940–1988), expert in the art of jewelery, famous for his reference monograph dedicated to the House of Cartier, planned in 1981 to write a book about Suzanne's work. Initiated by this project, Suzanne Belperron began to collect all of her archives.

In 2008, fascinated by art, the new heir asked a writer who specializes in antique jewelry and a French expert in jewelry to continue the monograph project that Hans Nadelhoffer had started. The French expert contracted on October 1st, 2008 that he had acquired the complete archives of Suzanne Belperron and was commissioned by the last legatee to immortalize the future of the expert opinion on the entire work of Suzanne Belperron.

A timeless style with growing success

The timeless style of Suzanne jewelry meets growing success, which was evidenced by two sales records in Paris. A brooch made of emeralds and diamonds in the shape of a cornucopia was sold for € 553,000 on May 19, 2010 and a bracelet made of tourmalines , emeralds , peridots , sapphires and beryls that sold for € 247,000 on November 24, 2011.

In early 2012, Karl Lagerfeld selected one of Suzanne Belperron's chalcedony jewelry pieces to set the tone for the Chanel spring / summer 2012 collection .

On May 14, 2012, the pieces of jewelery from Suzanne Belperron's private collection were sold in the 2007 estate in Geneva. The 60 shares were auctioned at three times its initial estimated value. The auctions brought in a total of CHF 3,224,950 (€ 2.7 million); Particularly unusual was a ring made of rock crystal , which was sold for € 386,000.

literature

  • Sylvie Raulet, Olivier Baroin: Suzanne Belperron . Antique Collectors Club, Woodbridge, UK 2011, ISBN 978-1-85149-625-9 . .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Thérèse Colin: Les industries de Saint-Claude . In: Les Études rhodaniennes . tape 13 , no. 3 , 1937, pp. 189–206 , here p. 196 , doi : 10.3406 / geoca.1937.6529 (French).
  2. ↑ Max Bauer: Precious Stones . Dover Publications, London 1968, ISBN 0-486-21910-0 , pp. 244 (English, books.google.com ).
  3. ^ Philippe Antoine: L'industrie de la pierre précieuse dans le Jura . In: Annales de Géographie . tape 58 , no. 310 , 1949, pp. 126–131 , doi : 10.3406 / geo.1949.12583 (French, Die Edelsteinschleiferei im Jura).
  4. ↑ a b Baroin and Raulet: Suzanne Belperron . 2011, p. 20 .
  5. ↑ Baroin and Raulet: Suzanne Belperron . 2011, p. 21 (Classification of the École des Beaux-Arts in Besançon in 1918, reproduced in the book - Olivier Baroin Archives).
  6. ↑ Baroin and Raulet: Suzanne Belperron . 2011, p. 21 (Boivin's reference letter, addressed to Mrs Suzanne Belperron, reproduced in the book - Olivier Baroin Archives).
  7. ↑ Baroin and Raulet: Suzanne Belperron . 2011, p. 9 (Letter from Mrs Jeanne Boivin dated November 2, 1923, reproduced in the book - Olivier Baroin Archives).
  8. ↑ a b Baroin and Raulet: Suzanne Belperron . 2011, p. 16 .
  9. ↑ a b c Baroin and Raulet: Suzanne Belperron . 2011, p. 32 .
  10. ↑ Baroin and Raulet: Suzanne Belperron . 2011, p. 8 (Boivin's reference letter, addressed to Mrs Suzanne Belperron, reproduced in the book - Olivier Baroin Archives).
  11. ↑ Bernard Herz , at memorial de la shoah
  12. ↑ See chapter newspaper articles
  13. ↑ Baroin and Raulet: Suzanne Belperron . 2011, p. 36 .
  14. ↑ Baroin and Raulet: Suzanne Belperron . 2011, p. 100 .
  15. ↑ Baroin and Raulet: Suzanne Belperron . 2011 (p. 8, p. 109 "Diana Vreeland is a loyal friend of Suzanne Belperron", p. 110 "She loved the designer's style", p. 280 "The names of her friends Elsa Schiaparelli and Diana Vreeland appeared in her notebooks ").
  16. ↑ Baroin and Raulet: Suzanne Belperron . 2011, p. 47 .
  17. ↑ Baroin and Raulet: Suzanne Belperron . 2011, p. 223 .
  18. ↑ Baroin and Raulet: Suzanne Belperron . 2011, p. 198 .
  19. ↑ Baroin and Raulet: Suzanne Belperron . 2011, p. 200 .
  20. ↑ a b c d Baroin and Raulet: Suzanne Belperron . 2011, p. 10 .
  21. ↑ Alexandre Crochet: Suzanne Belperron claims: "My style is my signature." In: La gazette Drouot . May 2009 (French).
  22. ↑ Baroin and Raulet: Suzanne Belperron . 2011, p. 48 .
  23. ↑ a b c Baroin and Raulet: Suzanne Belperron . 2011, p. 49 .
  24. ↑ a b c Baroin and Raulet: Suzanne Belperron . 2011, p. 50 .
  25. ↑ Shoah Memorial - The wall with the names index card by Bernard Herz at memorialdelashoah.org. Retrieved April 13, 2011 .
  26. ↑ a b Baroin and Raulet: Suzanne Belperron . 2011, p. 86 .
  27. ↑ a b Baroin and Raulet: Suzanne Belperron . 2011, p. 8 .
  28. ↑ Baroin and Raulet: Suzanne Belperron . 2011, p. 280 .
  29. ↑ Baroin and Raulet: Suzanne Belperron . 2011, p. 17 . Certificate of the National Order of the Legion of Honor, reproduced in the book - Archives Olivier Baroin
  30. ↑ a b Baroin and Raulet: Suzanne Belperron . 2011, p. 54 .
  31. ^ Caroline Pigozzi: Bijoux dans tous les éclats. Paris Match, October 13, 2011, accessed February 4, 2013 (French).
  32. ↑ a b Baroin and Raulet: Suzanne Belperron . 2011, p. 6 .
  33. ↑ Sotheby's magazine January – February 2012 - Personal jewelry from Ms. Belperron . 2012, p. 8 ( sothebys.com [PDF]).
  34. ↑ Baroin and Raulet: Suzanne Belperron . 2011, p. 348 .
  35. ↑ Hans Hoffer needle - Reference monograph Cartier. (No longer available online.) 1984, formerly in the original ; Retrieved February 4, 2013 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.cartier.fr  
  36. ↑ a b Baroin and Raulet: Suzanne Belperron . 2011, p. 54 .
  37. ↑ a b Baroin and Raulet: Suzanne Belperron . 2011, p. 13 .
  38. ^ Musée des Arts décoratifs (Paris) - Exhibition 2009 - Jewels Art Deco and Avant-Garde: Suzanne Belperron. March 19, 2009, accessed February 4, 2013 .
  39. ↑ Christie's - Selling an emerald and diamond brooch. Christie's , May 19, 2010, accessed October 21, 2013 .
  40. ↑ Christie's - Selling a bracelet by Suzanne Belperron. November 24, 2011, accessed February 1, 2013 .
  41. ↑ Visit the Atelier des Stickers Montex before the Chanel Show at FranceTV.fr. January 24, 2012, accessed February 1, 2013 (French).
  42. ↑ Sotheby's - selling Suzanne Belperron's personal jewelry. May 14, 2012, accessed February 1, 2013 .

Newspaper articles

  • Harper's Bazaar : September 1936, March 1938, April 1938, July-August 1938, January 1939
  • Pierre Schneider: Dix siècles de joaillerie française. In: L'Express . May 10, 1962, exhibition at the Louvre.
  • Le Figaro illustré: November 1934, December 1935
  • San Francisco Sunday Chronicle. November 16, 1961.
  • Vogue . - American edition: September 1933, January 1934, May 1934, June 1935, October 1935, January 1936, February 1936, April 1936, June 1936, January 1937
  • Vogue. - English edition: August 1934, 1936.
  • Vogue. - French edition: November 1933, May 1934, June 1934, July 1934, January 1935, February 1935, March 1935, April 1935, June 1935, September 1935, February 1936, March 1936, April 1936, August 1936, January 1937, February 1937, March 1937, May – June 1947, December 1947, February 1948, September 1950, December 1951 – January 1952, December 1960, March 1972.
  • Michèle Heuzé: Suzanne Belperron sort de l'ombre (Suzanne Belperron out of the shadows) . In: L'Objet d'art . May 2012, ISSN  0998-8041 , p. 68-73 (French).

Web links

Commons : Suzanne Belperron  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Belperron, Suzanne
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Vuillerme, Madeleine Suzanne Marie Claire (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French jewelry designer
DATE OF BIRTH September 26, 1900
PLACE OF BIRTH Saint-Claude (Jura)
DATE OF DEATH March 28, 1983
Place of death Paris