Platinum and Diamond Brooch, Van Cleef & Arpels - Photo Sotheby's

Designed as a bow knot with articulated ribbons, set with numerous round and baguette diamonds weighing approximately 60.00 carats, signed VCA, numbered 45159, circa 1930. With signed box. Estimation: 75,000 - 100,000 USD

Notes: Founded in 1906 on the Place Vendôme, Van Cleef & Arpels had become one of the leading jewelry houses in Paris by the 1930s. Their innovative designs and master craftsmanship quickly set them apart from their competition, as they both embraced and helped drive the nascent Art Deco movement. Starkly contrasting rigid, rectilinear shapes with circular motifs was a hallmark of the time, and the present brooch is no exception. The interplay of baguette and round diamonds is echoed by the rounded tops of the bows and the sharp angles at the bottom. Belying the industrial ethos of Art Deco, however, this brooch exhibits a supple flexibility and extraordinary workmanship that so clearly separated Van Cleef & Arpels from the other jewelry manufacturers of the day.

Sotheby's. Important Jewels. New York | 07 févr. 2013 http://www.sothebys.com