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Tiffany & Co. Paris Antique Sapphire and Diamond Bracelet
$59,500
Dating from circa 1886, this 18K gold, sapphire an diamond bangle bracelet was made by Tiffany & Co. Paris. The top of the hinged form is gypsy-set with three old European-cut diamonds interspersed with two cushion-cut sapphires, among stylized high-relief scrolling wave motifs continuing around the slightly tapering reverse. This chic, well-balanced bangle, whose stylized motifs suggest the growing influence of Japanese wood-cuts in the period, is set with beautiful old gems - it is a rare piece of jewelry made for Tiffany & Co. Paris stock.
- Product Details
- Curator's Notes
Item #: BA-21497
Artist: Tiffany & Co.
Country: France
Circa: 1886
Dimensions: 6.25" interior circumference
Materials: 3 old European-cut and old mine-cut diamonds (with approximate total weight 2.60 carats); 2 cushion-cut sapphires (with approximate total weight 1.50 carats); 18K Gold
Signed: Tiffany & Co Paris, engraved and dated 1886
Documentation: Together with a letter dated September 5, 2023 from IAJA Paris and former Tiffany Archivist Annamarie Sandecki stating that the bracelet "is a genuine Tiffany item."
As a very young firm, the daring Tiffany & Co. partners made forays into the Paris market. Charles Tiffany's early associate, John B. Young, traveled to Paris in the unsettled days after the 1848 revolution to seek out and purchase diamonds from cash-strapped aristocrats. He returned to New York with important jewelry, including a section of a diamond girdle that had once belonged to Marie Antoinette. Soon after, when partners Young and Ellis had left the firm, Tiffany invited the Bostonian Gideon F. T. Reed, a person of great culture and erudition, to enter into partnership with him and to represent the firm in Paris. Reed's principal role was to cultivate relationships with the great French jewelers, and the New York office benefitted from stock sourced from Reed's association with Falize and Boucheron. When Reed retired, his son Charles succeeded him in the Paris branch. The office also retailed jewelry, although it is unclear when this activity began.