80 - A RETRO DIAMOND, SAPPHIRE AND RUBY BROOCH, CIRCA 1950 Designed as a ballerina, her head set with an oval-shaped rose-cut diamond, her costume decorated with sapphire cabochons and circular-cut rubies, mounted in 14K gold, French assay mark, length 5.2cm

A RETRO DIAMOND, SAPPHIRE AND RUBY BROOCH, CIRCA 1950 Designed as a ballerina, her head set with an oval-shaped rose-cut diamond, her costume decorated with sapphire cabochons and circular-cut rubies, mounted in 14K gold, French assay mark, length 5.2cm A very similar brooch, by John Rubel & Co. sold recently at Sotheby's in June 2026 in New York, lot 115. Estimated $15,000-20,000, it sold for $192,000 (incl. premium). For a similar brooch, by Van Cleef & Arpels, see page 409 'Dancer Clip, 1944'. The Van Cleef & Arpels Collection 1906-1953. Edition Atelier EXB. Condition Report: Diamond: bright and lively Sapphires: of blue hue, medium tone, well matched in colour - one chipped at the top visible under 10x magnification Rubies: of purplish-red hue, medium tone, good transparency, overall well matched in colour Clasp closes securely, stamped 14K French shell assay mark for 14K gold located on the pin and reverse of the brooch Normal signs of wear, overall in good condition Total gross weight approx. 10.8g In December 1942, two ballerinas in Allied colours appeared in American Vogue alongside Uncle Sam and a canteen attendant carrying a rifle, a drum and a bouquet. All were finely crafted jewels. Van Cleef & Arpels had arranged six clips on an imaginary stage for an advertisement titled Sculpture in Gold. A year after the United States entered the war, a familiar pose from classical ballet had become part of a tribute to the troops. The ballerina clips themselves were barely a year old. Their origins lay in the evenings Louis Arpels and his nephew Claude spent at the Opéra Garnier in Paris, but it was in New York, where the house opened a boutique in 1939, that the first dancers took shape. Maurice Duvalet, a French designer who had worked for Cartier and Charlton & Co. in New York, conceived the dancers that John Rubel’s workshop translated into jewels for Van Cleef & Arpels. In 1942, Duvalet drew upon Nicolas Lancret’s painting of Marie Anne de Cupis de Camargo, the eighteenth-century dancer celebrated for her intricate footwork. Rubel, who had been producing jewellery in Hungary, before relocating in 1915 a few steps away form Place Vendôme, crafted the design into a brooch for Van Cleef & Arpels. Camargo balances on one leg, her full skirt of rose cut diamonds sweeping out behind her. The skirt mattered as much as the pose. In one of the house’s earliest clips, twenty-nine rose cut diamonds of varying weights give the tutu its volume, and emeralds on the underside come into view where the hem lifts. A single diamond suggests the face, with the turn of the body and the fall of the costume supplying the expression. When John and Robert Rubel opened their own firm on Fifth Avenue in 1943, both houses continued to develop the ballerina independently. Rubel could give one dancer a skirt of fine wire that she holds away from her body, and another a fuller costume built up with rounded cabochons. The early figures were made in small numbers and attracted collectors from the outset. A Van Cleef & Arpels ballerina inspired by Camargo entered the collection of Marjorie Merriweather Post, the American heiress whose Washington home became Hillwood Museum, and the noted jewellery collector Barbara Hutton bought one of the house’s dancers in 1944. Claude Arpels’ friendship with George Balanchine, a founder of New York City Ballet, later helped inspire Jewels, a ballet in three parts, Emeralds, Rubies and Diamonds, which premiered in New York in 1967. For collectors, the appeal of the early clips lies in their scarcity and in the differences between individual figures. Two dancers may share the same diamond face, yet the lift of an arm or the way a skirt opens in mid-step gives each a character of her own. Although unsigned, the ballerina offered in this sale bears a striking resemblance to a brooch of circa 1945 signed Rubel. The two dancers strike the same pose, their arms raised and one leg extended beneath the sweep of the skirt. The likeness extends to the choice of stones. A single rose cut diamond forms the face, while sapphire cabochons and circular cut rubies bring colour to the costume. The signed example sold for $192,000 at Sotheby’s in New York in June 2026.