As a child, Jean Schlumberger was an avid sketcher, showcasing a talent that would bloom years later into a brilliant jewelry design career. Born in Alsace, France in 1907, Schlumberger’s parents were in the textile business. They discouraged their son’s creative streak and when he was old enough, his parents sent him to Berlin to start a career in banking. Schlumberger was not in the least bit interested in banking so he moved to Paris where he pursued his creative ventures and also opened an atelier on rue de la Boetie.
Schlumberger got his big break in 1937 when fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli asked him to make buttons for some of her clothes. He later designed a costume jewelry collection for the iconic designer. Both the buttons and the jewelry collection were very well received.
Around the time that Schlumberger finished his project with Schiaparelli, World War II began to wreak havoc in Europe, so he joined the French Army. When the war was over, Schlumberger moved to New York City and worked in fashion, setting up a salon with Nicolas Bongard, his business partner.
Schlumberger Becomes Jewelry Designer for Tiffany & Co.
It was 1956 when Tiffany & Co., chair Walter Hoving, made Schlumberger an offer he couldn’t refuse: An invitation to join the firm as jewelry designer and vice president. Schlumberger accepted. It was a creative boon for Schlumberger, who is one of four designers that Tiffany & Co. let sign their work (the other three are Elsa Peretti, Paloma Picasso and Frank Gehry).
Once he was a part of Tiffany & Co., Schlumberger had access to diamonds and colored gemstones that he didn’t have before, further inspiring his creativity. Schlumberger drew heavily upon nature for his designs, saying, “I try to make everything look as if it were growing, uneven, at random, organic, in motion.” His creations were inspired by birds, sea creatures and flowers, often rather exotic versions that he saw when he traveled to Asia, Bali and the Caribbean. Schlumberger’s sculptural jewels were known to contrast naturalistic forms with geometric shapes and he was also an early innovator in the use of mixed metals, often incorporating yellow gold and platinum together in one jewel. Additionally, he integrated motifs inspired by his family’s textile business such as ropes, tassels and ribbons, creating big, bold, textural jewels imbued with color and sophistication for the changing lifestyle of modern women.
Schlumberger’s Most Famous Creations
One of the first projects that Schlumberger undertook when he arrived at Tiffany & Co. and one of his most important, was to mount the 128.54-carat Tiffany Diamond. He designed the Ribbon Rosette necklace with the infamous rock as the centerpiece, which was worn by Audrey Hepburn for the “Breakfast at Tiffany” movie press tour. He reset the diamond again in 1955 in one of his most iconic creations: Bird on a Rock, which features a jeweled bird perched on the diamond. A popular design, small versions have been made with the bird sitting atop a citrine, aquamarine or a pearl.
It didn’t take long for Schlumberger to grow a stellar client list that included actors Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor along with well-known socialites Babe Paley, C.Z. Guest, Gloria Vanderbilt and Rachel “Bunny” Mellon. First Lady Jackie Kennedy was also a fan, known for wearing the enamel Croisillon bracelets that Schlumberger designed so frequently that the press nicknamed them the “Jackie Bracelets”. One of Schlumberger’s most famous designs, the bracelets are made using an enameling technique, paillonne, that was popular during the 1800s. To create paillonne enamel, layers of translucent colored enamel are applied to very thin sheets of silver or gold, resulting in brilliant colors with a glassy shine. These bracelets were the perfect fit for women of that decade who were looking for more casual jewelry to wear during the daytime.
In another celebrity encounter, Schlumberger’s dolphin brooch was in the spotlight. This time it was actress Elizabeth Taylor wearing his jewels. When actor Richard Burton’s film, “Night of the Iguana”, was about to open in 1964, he gifted Taylor the dolphin brooch, which she wore often and was photographed wearing many times. The attention brought star status to the piece, which became known as the Night of the Iguana brooch.
Schlumberger Becomes a Knight
Schlumberger retired from Tiffany & Co., in the late 1970s, passing away in 1987. During his career, Schlumberger was the recipient of many accolades. In 1958 he won the Fashion Critic’s Coty Award. In 1977, the French government made him a Chevalier (Knight) of the National Order of Merit. In 1995 the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris held a retrospective of Schlumberger’s work entitled “Un Diamante dans la Ville”. It was only the third time that the museum held an exhibit of a jewelry designer’s work.
Today, one of the most extensive collections of Schlumberger’s jewelry is in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts permanent collection, a gift from Paul and Rachel Mellon to the museum. Schlumberger’s designs continue to delight at Tiffany & Co., where skilled artisans fabricate the innovative jewels that were his signature. However, it is the vintage jewelry from his early work, where he actually was involved in the production of the pieces that are the most coveted by collectors.
Ruby, turquoise and 18-karat gold ring, signed Schlumberger, circa 1960s; Tiffany Diamond, courtesy Shipguy, Wikicommons; Yellow, orange and white diamonds set in 18-karat gold, fringe necklace signed Schlumberger STD, Tiffany & Co. and numbered.
Authored by Amber Michelle