Mysteriously Invisible Stone Settings: From Van Cleef to Trifari

When enthusiastic about jewellery bucket lists, working throughout a bit made with Trifari’s invisible stone settings ranks fairly excessive for me. I’ve solely seen a number of of those items in individual at costume jewellery collectors’ conventions, and I’ve by no means discovered one which got here near touchdown in my price range zone. These treasures stay eye sweet that I research on-line and envision coming my method sometime.

In the event you’ve by no means seen considered one of these items, that’s comprehensible. They’re thought of rarities, in order that they’re often priced within the hundreds. One other factor that makes them particular is that they had been impressed by high-quality jewellery design. To find out about what the American model Trifari was doing with these items through the Nineteen Thirties and past, a glance again at how one of the well-known French jewellery homes perfected the type is so as.

Van Cleef & Arpels Thriller Set Jewellery

Van Cleef & Arpels patented its beautifully engaging Thriller Set jewellery in 1933. It wasn’t the one excessive jeweler making items with invisible stone settings at that time, nevertheless it did enhance the method making its variations the very best examples of the sort of work. The agency’s innovation makes use of rails of gold to carry stones in place so all you see is a phenomenal blanket of shade from the entrance. Flip the piece over to disclose a grid of metalwork on the again.

Most of those stones are particular hexagonal cuts that look sq. at first look, however each is sized appropriately for the intricacies of the jewellery design. Rubies have been used most frequently in Van Cleef & Arpels Mystery Set styles, though some items have sapphires, emeralds, and even diamonds inside these complicated and mesmerizing designs.

The Thriller Set differs from pavé settings in that small, spherical stones are set utilizing tiny metallic beads to carry them in place in order that all the floor is roofed with gems. The phrase pavé in French refers to paved surfaces or cobblestones, and pavé set stones have that kind of look in jewellery. Whereas it takes ability to perform the strategy of pavé setting stones, invisibly set stones are much more troublesome.

Jewelers with the ability to make a Thriller Set piece of jewellery are few and much between. In reality, Van Cleef & Arpels notes {that a} clip set on this method takes a median of 300 hours to supply. When taking a look at these items intently, there’s little doubt that the superbly layered and complicated particulars might solely be completed by a grasp like these employed by Van Cleef & Arpels.

Whereas usually related to artwork deco jewellery, Thriller Set items have been produced very often by Van Cleef & Arpels since then. In reality, in 2019, the legendary jewellery home launched the Pomme de Pin clip incorporating navette-shaped (also called marquis) stones to type pinecones. That is the primary use of this form to realize a Thriller Set design, and the result’s beautiful. One other innovation is the Vitrail Mystery Set, the place metallic is invisible when considered from each the entrance and the again.

Given the fantastic thing about these items, it’s no marvel {that a} masterful costume jewellery firm could be impressed to fill the necessity for comparable designs made from extra inexpensive supplies.

Trifari’s Spellbinding Invisible Settings

In the event you’re acquainted with Trifari jewellery in any respect, you most likely acknowledge the title Alfred Philippe. He was the artistic genius heading Trifari and was liable for most of the agency’s most sensible designs from the Nineteen Thirties by means of a lot of the ‘60s. Earlier than coming into the costume jewellery business, he labored for Cartier, so he was no stranger to excessive jewellery design and manufacture. With that data, he was impressed to design invisibly set items of costume jewellery.

Philippe’s designs got here at a time when high-quality jewellery demand had waned through the Nice Melancholy, however many ladies nonetheless wished the look of haughty adornment. Trifari did a superb job of assembly this demand, though these items weren’t for everybody. As a result of the costs had been comparatively excessive for the interval, a restricted quantity had been made and bought by the trendy women who might afford them then. In reality, Trifari continued to make jewellery with this look by means of the Nineteen Sixties.

Moderately than setting every stone invisibly in rows like high-quality jewellery, costume jewellery items reaching the same look make use of stones made from waffle glass. The glass segments are molded in a single piece to appear to be a collection of sq. stones and impart the phantasm of invisibly set gem stones. The result’s a swath of jewel-toned crimson, inexperienced, or deep blue hues that do a fairly good job of imitating the items produced by Van Cleef & Arpels.

In the event you’re fortunate sufficient to search out considered one of these items, take excellent care of it. When the waffle glass segments get broken, they’re just about not possible to exchange. Retailer the items individually in bins with tight-fitting lids to maintain mud out of the stones. In the event you do want to wash one, brush it gently with a small, delicate brush to get the mud out of all of the nooks and crannies. In the event you’re much more lucky to personal a bit of Thriller Set high-quality jewellery, depart cleansing and care to a jeweler accustomed to coping with high-end jewellery to keep away from injury.

Like me, perhaps you haven’t gotten that fortunate but. Fortuitously, we are able to have a look at all of the items which have bought within the WorthPoint® Price Guide and dream about discovering one collectively.

Pamela Siegel is a contract author and creator who has been educating collectors for greater than 20 years. Along with three books on subjects referring to antiques and collectibles, she incessantly shares her experience by means of on-line writing and articles for print-based publications. Pamela can be the co-founder of Costume Jewellery Collectors Int’l (CJCI) and the proprietor of Stylish Antiques by Pamela.

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