Rare Jade & Gold Necklace by René Boivin, Paris 1911

The turn of the century around 1900, the Belle Époque, was also the golden era of jewellery. An international elite of industrialists, aristocrats, actresses and bon vivants, whose wealth remains legendary to this day and whose desire to show it off has hardly been equaled. Jewellery was a means of self-expression. It indicated status, wealth, originality and the courage to be lavish: Every new fashion required new jewellery, and society discussed who had worn which pieces and when. Many of the great houses that are still known today gained their fame here, such as Cartier or van Cleef & Arpels; great artists such as Wiese, Falize, Lalique and Vever also shone. One of them, René Boivin (1864-1917), opened his first workshop in the Rue de Turbigo in 1890, initially producing for big names such as Mellerio and Boucheron, and from around 1905 also rose to the heights of jewellery under his own name. Boivin worked in all styles. He designed in the Egyptian and Assyrian styles as well as in Art Nouveau, created jewellery in the Garland style (then called "style Louis XVI") and in Art Deco. In the years shortly before the war, he also designed a few pieces in the Japonais style. Artists in Paris had already discovered the art of Japan, especially woodblock prints, in the late 19th century. The two-dimensionality of the illustrations, the foreign vegetation and the reduced manner of depiction had inspired them and had a decisive influence on the development of Art Nouveau. Boivin took up these features when he designed jewellery in the Japanese style. This necklace is an impressive example of this. Made from jade, pearls and high-carat gold, the piece consists of a long, handmade chain that holds a wide central section with five suspensions. A gold relief is placed in the middle of the jade. Cherry blossoms shine here in front of gnarled branches. The attached chains with beads and balls and jade pompoms seem to form their roots. At the same time, they are not heavy or attached to the ground, but move elegantly with the wearer's every movement. The necklace is not overwhelming due to its precious gemstones: it impresses with its design and first-class workmanship. It was aimed at an educated public that defined itself through taste, style and finds pleasure in exclusive, unique pieces. A photograph of the necklace from 1911, the year it was created, can be found in Françoise Cailles: René Boivin Joaillier, Paris 1994, p. 48. We discovered the necklace in London, but it had lost three of its jade pompoms over the last 110 years. Our workshop has restored the piece to the model of the antique illustration and so it is complete again. A museum-quality and collectible piece of jewellery history.

Estimate:$33,500.16

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