Tiffany & Co’s brooches By Jean Schlumberger

Jean Schlumberger might be long gone, but his artistic genius lives on at Tiffany & Co. Karishma Tulsidas would love to find this trio of brooches under her Christmas tree.

WHEN IT COMES to investing in jewellery, does the value lie in the stone or in the design? It’s often a case of either or, but for the jewellery by Jean Schlumberger, the value lies in both.

Schlumberger, was hired by Tiffany & Co in 1956, and penned a new design lexicon for the American jeweller. He eschewed the austerity of the era with jewels that blurred the lines between surrealism and impressionism, and drew inspiration from the exotic flora and fauna he encountered in his travels. Schlumberger is best described as an artist, and relied on a plethora of coloured gemstones as his palette.

He amassed famous fans including Jackie Kennedy, who had a penchant for his enamel bangles – which are becoming increasingly difficult to find in Tiffany & Co boutiques, or even on auction, today.

It’s no surprise that Schlumberger’s designs remain coveted long after his demise. In fact, in the past few years, Tiffany & Co has been digging deep into its archives to bring back some of Schlumberger’s iconic works, and is even bringing to life hitherto-unseen sketches that the artist-cum-designer had drawn.

These jewels are marked by a code of excess, one that can be seen in the bold and colourful stones combined with precious and inventive metalwork techniques, to replicate mother nature’s follies and whimsicalities. Gold and platinum are hammered and worked upon to resemble the organic curves and lines of flowers, plants, animals and more.

For Christmas this year, we’d recommend this series of brooches that has been inspired by the animal kingdom, including the hummingbird clip (right), which features pink and blue sapphires, tsavorites, diamonds and a ruby. Showcasing Tiffany & Co’s incredible mastery of the art of gold-smithing is the seahorse brooch (left), where its golden silhouette seems to be perpetually in motion. We also love the glimmering body of this starfish brooch (centre), which has been rendered in paillonne enamel, and studded with a round rubellite, sapphires, tsavorites and diamonds.