Man Barton is looking for daring gold jewellery with the initials GL, for Georges Lenfant. “It’s a hidden mark that signifies improbable, unparalleled high quality,” stated Mr. Barton, the director of Hancocks London, the classic jewellery seller established in 1849.
As somebody who has dealt with examples of advantageous jewellery from each interval, Mr. Barton stated that no different goldsmith has matched the craftsmanship and creativity of the mid-Twentieth century-maker. “You’ll be able to instantaneously inform a Lenfant piece once you maintain it,” he stated. “It’s tactile and versatile; it has creative finishes and textures and motion.”
Lenfant’s identify is understood by classic sellers and knowledgeable collectors, nevertheless it’s probably that some individuals who personal Lenfant items don’t notice it. That’s as a result of for many years Georges Lenfant and his son, Jacques, collaborated on designs with virtually each essential jewellery home, from Cartier to Van Cleef & Arpels. The Lenfants’ hallmark, a diamond-shape stamp with the initials, appeared alongside the names of well-known homes on jewellery and likewise was stamped on the gold bracelets of watches from Rolex, Hermès and Vacheron Constantin.
Just lately, nevertheless, the Lenfants are lastly getting recognition past jewellery’s internal circles. With the renewed curiosity in assertion gold jewellery, persons are discovering their hanging designs, stated Russell Zelenetz, a associate in Stephen Russell, a jewellery retailer on Madison Avenue. “Prospects are drawn to the jewellery due to the look and the best way it feels. Lenfant was a genius in the best way he manipulated, hand-wove, and completed the gold.”
Mr. Zelenetz has been amassing and promoting Lenfant items since he and Stephen Feuerman established the enterprise 39 years in the past. Its present providing consists of various items from the Nineteen Sixties, resembling an oversize 18-karat gold Hermès Chaîne d’Ancre hyperlink bracelet stamped with Georges Lenfant’s initials and a supple 18-karat gold mesh buckle bracelet designed by Jacques Lenfant.
The enterprise started as Duparc and Lenfant in 1899, and Georges Lenfant registered his initials as his maker’s mark in 1909. His workshop was close to Paris’s Place Vendôme, already the guts of the world’s luxurious jewellery homes. In 1915, Jacques, then 11, joined the enterprise whereas persevering with his research on the École nationale supérieure des Arts décoratifs in Paris and later apprenticing with jewelers in Germany, Austria and England. (Ultimately a few of his designs had been stamped Jacques Lenfant for Georges Lenfant.)
Through the years, the Lenfants made a variety of items, from diamond rings to whimsical jeweled brooches in animal shapes. However after World Conflict II, when ladies wished assertion jewellery that mirrored their newfound impartial spirit, Jacques Lenfant pushed the boundaries of metalwork to create revolutionary items in gold — what he known as a “concord of sounds, shapes and textures” in his ebook “Le livre de la chaîne,” printed in 1996, a 12 months after his demise.
“His gold jewellery,” Mr. Barton stated, “was the spine of the midcentury daring gold motion.”
“Lenfant’s chains are stunning and seamless, and so they transfer completely,” stated Loren Teetelli, a Los Angeles-based jeweler skilled in historical metalsmithing, who spends three to 5 days making a single gold chain for her Loren Nicole assortment.
“While you maintain a home made chain,” she stated, “it feels totally different, strikes totally different and has a heft you can’t get with casting.”
Jacques Lenfant pulled gold into skinny wires that then had been woven into versatile lengths, so even a big mesh bracelet appeared to hug the wearer’s wrist. His ending methods included etching gold to create sparkle, sharpening it to a excessive shine and sanding for a matte impact.
“Gold work is a vastly expert craft,” Mr. Zelenetz stated. “Jacques Lenfant pushed the boundaries of what was attainable. He was creating distinctive kinds that hadn’t been seen earlier than. Even his clasps had been distinctive and built-in seamlessly into the design.”
After Jacques Lenfant’s demise in 1995, the corporate stopped producing Lenfant jewellery and the workshop was offered.
However Anthony Barzilay Freund, the editorial director at 1stDibs, the net dwelling and design retailer, stated Lenfant is ripe for rediscovery. “It’s fairly insider for now, however I feel it would change as a result of we’re in a interval when folks need assertion gold jewellery,” he stated.
A current seek for Lenfant on the 1stDibs web site turned up greater than 50 jewels and watches, starting from a Nineteen Seventies gold zodiac pendant from Van Cleef & Arpels and Lenfant ($16,500) to a Nineteen Fifties Vé gold hyperlink bracelet by Jacques Lenfant for Georges Lenfant ($38,000). The sellers set costs on 1stDibs, with these for Lenfant items starting from $16,000 to $18,000.
Mr. Barton stated Lenfant jewellery represents good worth, as a bit could be less expensive than, for instance, a gold classic bracelet signed by Cartier.
“In the mean time, I don’t suppose the Lenfants are getting the popularity that they deserve,” Mr. Barton stated. However he thinks that received’t final for much longer.
