The Jeweler … The Actors … and The Hand of God.
It’s the late 1930’s. We’re in the heyday of Hollywood. If there was
ever a jeweler to the stars … it was an American named Paul
Flato. He existed in the spotlight of an entourage of the famous
… and perhaps infamous. Much of his jewelry appeared in films. He
boasted among his clientele such names as: Merle Oberon … Mae West
… Lily Pons … Fanny Brice … Paulette Goddard … Katherine
Hepburn … and a myriad of others.
Much of Flato’s designs had a whimsical twist to them as well as an
inordinate sense of beauty and a strict adherence to craftsmanship.
Not a bad combination … eh wot folks? Alas … in the 1940’s …
Flato’s business collapsed. No one seems to truly know why. Some say
that when WWII erupted … jewelry sales plummeted … and he
couldn’t hang on. But it all doesn’t matter … for the man left
behind a legacy of jewelry and creativeness.
And so I had to pick a piece out of the many pieces I had from which
to pick. Sound a bit like Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled
peppers … doesn’t it? I chose a bit of fancy of his entitled Hand
of God … which is a brooch on a chain which was worn by Joan
Bennett for an RKO publicity shot. It’s a representation of a
palm-reader’s diagram and has pav=E9 set diamond stars on an 18 karat
yellow gold hand. The stars represent Venus, Jupiter, Saturn,
Apollo, Mercury, Mars, and the Moon … all epitomizing the seven
virtues associated with the gods. Not being the most virtuous of men
… I must herewith confess that I have no clue as to what the seven
virtues are. I imagine one might be: Thou shalt not eat too much
cholesterol … but then again … that might be more of a
commandment than a virtue … and also a tad more modernistic than
was intended by Flato. Any help here would be greatly appreciated.
Parenthetically … Bennett also commissioned Flato to create a
replica of a cigar-band wedding ring in 18 karat gold. I searched
for that one … but alas met with failure. It’s the item I truly
wanted to see for myself … and then pass it on to you. T’warn’t to
be folks. Maybe another Tidbit at another time. For now … The
Hand of God … by Paul Flato … for Joan Bennett. It’s unique …
and it’s striking.
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 left side menu till you get to the area that says
Tidbits…and then click on the link that says: Hand … where you
will see a graphic of our brooch.
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: webmaster@tyler-adam.com