Legendary French jeweler Suzanne Belperron
Legendary French jeweler Suzanne Belperron
Jewelry masterpieces created by Suzanne Belperron (1900–1983) today receive very high prices at auctions. She designed jewelry for more than sixty years (!), until her sudden death on 28 March 1983. She did not leave any heir and her name should remain history. Before her death, Belperron wanted to burn her sketches, because she hated the idea that someone could use them. Fortunately, she did not burn the sketches.
Born in France in 1900, Madelyne Suzanne Marie Claire Woolerme grew up in Saint-Claude, a well-known in the world of jewelers and diamond lovers. The girl from an early age showed a talent for drawing, and wise parents decided to give their daughter to the school of fine arts in Besancon. A talented and ambitious girl, not satisfied with the province, she went to Paris, where quickly became a designer at the “Rene Boivin”.
Here, for the first time, she embodied her numerous sketches in real jewelry. In fact, she created most of these sketches at the age of 17. Interestingly, the decorations of Belperron strongly knocked out of the then prevailing art deco style. Bold was not only design, but also a combination of materials. Thus, Suzanne perfectly united precious and semiprecious stones – chalcedony, rock crystal and smoky quartz.
Legendary French jeweler Suzanne Belperron
Career progress was more than successful, and employers were happy, but Mademoiselle Belperron herself was not satisfied because of the lack of recognition of society. After working at the Boivin house for almost 13 years, she resigned.
However, within a month she took a profitable business offer from Bernard Hertz, the famous Parisian pearl and precious stones trader. Hertz gave Belperron complete freedom. So, she opened her own workshop Jean Herz-Suzanne Belperron and established cooperation with the famous stune cutter Adrien Louart (1890–1989).
In fact, this period was very fruitful for Belperron with worldwide fame and regular publications in Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue. The biggest fans and regular customers of Belperron were the Duchess of Winzor and many other celebrities.
Noteworthy, she never put her signature on the jewelry. According to the designer, her signature was her style.
Legendary French jeweler Suzanne Belperron
