Lacloche - Jewels New York Thursday, June 2, 2022 | Phillips

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    • Round brilliant-cut, carré-cut, and baguette-cut diamonds, total approximately 54.70 cts.
      Signed
      Platinum, inner circumference approximately 15 1/8 inch

  • Catalogue Essay

    “Considered the equal of the major firms of the place Vendôme during the interwar period, one of the stars of the Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes of 1925, and at the origin of magnificent Art Deco jewelry creations, the Lacloche firm was one of the most renowned of the first half of the 20th century. Its history unrolled over three quarters of a century, from 1892, when the Lacloche brothers moved to Paris, to 1967, when the store on the place Vendôme closed” (Marie Vallanet-Delhom and Nicolas Bos, in Lacloche Joailliers, exh. Cat., Paris, 2019).

    The Lacloche brothers were of Belgian origin and moved to Paris in 1892. Thanks to their collaborations and relationships with other jewelers, they soon opened branches in many seaside and spa resorts in France. They also set-up in Madrid where their jewels would captivate the royal family of Spain. A few years later, in 1901, they moved to the prestigious rue de la Paix in Paris. And in 1905, they created a branch in London, on Bond Street.
    The Lacloches were working closely with renowned Parisian workshops and these famous designers - who also worked for Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Boucheron, Mauboussin to name a few - provided the maison with some of their most delicate and iconic pieces from the Art Deco period. Rubel, Verger, Dumont and Strass Allard Meyer were amongst them.
    In 1931, the Lacloche Frères maison was bankrupted. However, Jacques Lacloche, the nephew of the founders, would relaunch the name in 1938.

    Jacques Lacloche was born in 1901. Raised in Brussels, he arrived in Paris at the age of 18. Trained by his uncle, Fernand Lacloche, he joined the family firm. Not discouraged by the bankruptcy of the company in 1931, Jacques, who had saved a small part of the stock, started again to do business with former customers. In 1936, he rented a display window in Cannes to show his jewels. Two years later, he opened shops in the French capital and in Cannes. He managed to build close relationships with important clients, such as Prince Ali Khan, the American billionaire Florence Gould, the famous singer “la Môme Moineau” - Lucienne Suzanne Dhotelle who had married Puerto Rican businessman Felix Benitez Rexach -, but also Elsa Schiaparelli, the Princess of Hyberabad, the Maharajah of Kapurthala, the Prince of Nepal, the Maharajah of Jaipur, General Weygan, commander of the French Army, Lady Clementine Hozier, wife of Winston Churchill, the Princess de Faucigny Lucinge, the Marquise de la Fressange…

    Another anecdote shows the fame of the jewelery maison. In 1956, Prince Rainier III of Monaco married Hollywood icon Grace Kelly. Jacques Lacloche was invited to the wedding but was also asked to create jewels that the prince would eventually present to his bride: a diamond clip set with an important sapphire and a pair of sapphire and diamond ear clips.

    At the pick of his success, in the 1960s, Jacques Lacloche took a turn in his career and dedicated the upper floor of the place Vendôme boutique to exhibitions of Beaux-Arts. He was now dedicating his time to contemporary artistic creation and issuing design pieces; the maison Lacloche closed its doors in 1967.

90

Diamond and Platinum Necklace

Round brilliant-cut, carré-cut, and baguette-cut diamonds, total approximately 54.70 cts.
Signed
Platinum, inner circumference approximately 15 1/8 inch

Estimate
$80,000 - 120,000 

Sold for $151,200

Contact Specialist

Eva Violante

Senior Specialist, Head of Sale,

Jewellery

eviolante@phillips.com

+1 212 940 1316

Jewels

New York Auction 2 June 2022