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French 1960s Enamel and Gem-set Sea Unicorn Brooch, Jean Thierry Bondt
$12,500
Made by Jean Thierry Bondt, Paris, a creator of jewelry for Van Cleef & Arpels, Lacloche, Cartier, and Mauboussin, among others, this 18K gold and enamel unicorn clip brooch is set with diamonds and colored stones. The highly three dimensional sea unicorn with bronze, white and blue champlevé enamel horn and body has a pave-set diamond tail, circular-cut sapphire eyes and ruby accents, with flexibly-set cabochon lapis and pearl pendant. Beautifully modeled, this fanciful, vividly colored clip brooch is a unique jewel with a charming presence.
- Product Details
- Curator's Notes
Item #: BO-17271
Artist: Jean Thierry Bondt, Paris
Country: France
Circa: 1960s
Dimensions: 2.625" length, 2.00" width.
Materials: 24 round brilliant-cut diamonds (approximate total weight 1.00 carats); 3 round-cut rubies (approximate total weight 0.36 carat); 2 round-cut sapphires (with approximate total weight .06 carat); 1 cabochon lapis lazuli; Pearl; 18K Gold; Enamel
Signed: Maker's mark for Jean Thierry Bondt, French control marks
Located in the Marais, at 19 rue du Choiseul, the jeweler Jean Thierry Bondt (active 1955-2006) was a collaborator with Lacloche, Boucheron and Van Cleef & Arpels and Cartier. Their jewelry collaborations from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s are signed by the maisons, and are also stamped with Bondt's maker's mark. They include both colorful 1960s brooches of stylized natural forms including birds, feathers, flowers, and butterflies, as well as abstract designs in wood and unusual materials from the 1970s. The "Dictionnaire des joailliers, bijoutiers, et orfèvres" reports that the firm may have had an earlier iteration in the rue Saint-Augustin that collaborated from 1946 with Pierre Sterlé. Le Marais, an historic arrondissement famous both for winding maze-like streets, the Place des Vosges was a traditional neighborhood for manufacturing jewelers.