About Jean Schlumberger Brand:
Despite his parents’ desire, Jean Schlumberger decided not to pursue a banker’s career. From the early age he inclined to being an artist and became skillful in drawing. His decorative porcelain flower brooches were spotted by Elsa Schiaparelli. She hired Schlumberger to design costume jewelry and buttons for her haute couture line. The closing designer let his talent to flourish. As Schiaparelli recalled, Schlumberger’s buttons were shaped as whimsical creatures and looked like anything but buttons.
Six years after opening his jewelry salon in 1950, Schlumberger joined Tiffany & Co. as a signature designer. And once again, his creativity and talent thrived there just as well. In his first year he created three settings for the famous Tiffany Yellow Diamonds. Later on, Schlumberger style was highly acclaimed by celebrities. Jacqueline Kennedy was among them; she wore his bracelets so often that eventually the press nicknamed them ‘Jackie bracelets’.
As to Schlumberger’s solo career, it was no less spectacular. His custom pieces carry the signature ‘Schlumberger Monture,’ or ‘Schlumberger Mount’ in English.
Aquatic life and nature in general were his sources of inspiration. His saying “I want to capture the irregularity of the universe” defines his designer’s approach. One of the most iconic jewels by Schlumberger — gold, diamond, sapphire and emerald Dolphin brooch was made in just 10 pieces quantity.
Schlumberger design is well recognized not only by the jewelry world but by the art society as well. Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris held a retrospective of his work in 1995. Thus, he was only the third jewelry designer that had been honored by the museum. The famous ‘Two Fruit’ clip can be seen in the permanent collection in the Presidential Library and Museum.
About Estate Jewelry:
Buying jewelry online might be challenging. The quality of the making has not gotten better over the time while the design is getting more and more generic. Add ever rising prices and you could end up with not finding anything suitable. To purchase a high-quality jewelry piece for an obtainable price consider buying estate items.
- Quality vs Quantity
Estate pieces mostly belong to the times when jewels were handmade and not mass produced. There were simply less jewelry makers at that time and they cared about their reputation. Opposed to the current fast fashion approach, life pace was in general slower. That allowed makers to take more time to craft truly quality pieces.
- Fair-Priced vs Overpriced
Designer pieces aka signed pieces can cost multiple times more than their unsigned equivalents. We pay not only for an item itself but also for the brand advertising campaigns and all the buzz the name is creating. Prices for estate jewelry form differently and mostly depend on the cost paid by a seller. A pre-owned Bulgari ring and a brand-new Bulgari ring have a very appealing price difference. Ask your local jewelry store about a retail price of the desired piece and you’d be pleasantly surprised.
- True value vs Seasonal rush
Pre-owned jewelry retains its value. Over the time it gets rare and more expensive. Think purchasing a new car that loses its value right after you left your dealer versus buying a vintage vehicle.
At Nadine Krakov Collection we love beauty and high-quality. Each of our estate jewelry piece is in excellent condition. We preserve the history and the greatest styles of the past so our clients can enjoy them at the fullest.
