[Tidbits] Jewels of a Woman of Style

Ladies and Gennulmen. Step right up. Don’t be shy. Come on young 'un.
Get a little closer. Be the first to view that spectacular piece of
jewelry…the Pigeon’s Wing. It’s pav� set. It has round stones. It
has baguettes. It has calibr�-cut sapphires. It’s mounted in platinum
which–when finished–was subsequently gilt.

The jeweler that created this piece folks…his name was Ren� Boivin.
I can find no history on the chap. Not in the encyclopedia. Not on
the web. Not in the used bookstores. Not in modern bookstores. Poof!
Like magic…the guy evanesced into oblivion. But when you’ve finished
this article…go look at the piece…and tell me if it isn’t one of
the most creative and delicate pieces of jewelry you’ve ever seen.
It’s a stunner.

The year is 1936. Want to know what happened then? Margaret
Mitchell’s novel: Gone With the Wind was a runaway best seller. Jesse
Owens won 4 gold medals in the track events at the Olympics in
Berlin…proving to Hitler that the Aryan race was not superior. FDR
won the presidential election. And the Pigeon’s Wing by Boivin was
purchased by one Daisy Fellowes…heiress to the Singer Sewing
Machine fortune.

One would think…would one not…that if I didn’t have much
on the artist that created this piece…I would at least
have on the woman who purchased it…right? Wrongo amigos?
Another mystery in a world strewn with mysteries. Well…I do know a
little. I know that Cartier created jewels just for her. I know she
was considered one of the most glamorous women of her time…sharing
the spotlight with the likes of Coco Chanel…and the Duchess of
Windsor…and Greta Garbo…and Gloria Swanson…and Marlene
Deitrich…and Joan Crawford…and others. I know she was president of
the Society of London. And I know she was considered one of the
legendary women of our time who defined the art of style.

I also know that Daisy Fellowes spent a great deal on jewelry. She
once bought the celebrated Tete de Belier, or Ram’s Head pink diamond
from Cartier, originally a gift from Catherine the Great to her
paramour Potemkin. She then had it reset. When she purchased the
Pigeon’s Wing–worth about $75,000-- she also purchased a little Art
Deco doo-dad by Cartier…a necklace and earring set that was worth in
1991 about 3,850,000 Swiss Francs. Jewelry, my friends, ain’t’ cheap.
And good jewelry is even less cheap.

When it came to jewelry…our Daisy Fellowes knew from whence
things came. She had high high standards. The proof is in the
pudding…or rather in the Pigeon’s Wing. Go see this piece. It’s a
knockout.

For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits…may I
direct you to my home page at www.tyler-adam.com where you will
scroll down the table menu till you get to the box that says
Tidbits…and inside the box where it says Tidbit Graphics…click on
the link that says: Wing…where you will see a graphic of
our…Wing.

And there ya have it. That’s it for this week folks. Catch you all next
week. Benjamin Mark

TYLER-ADAM CORP.–Jewelry Manufacturers
Tel: 1-800-20-TYLER
E-Mail to: webmaster@tyler-adam.com