Paul Flato - Jewels New York Thursday, June 2, 2022 | Phillips
    • Near round and button coral, 8.23 to 6.36 mm.
      Round ruby, total approximately 0.70 ct.
      Round sapphire, total approximately 0.70 ct.
      Round emeralds, total approximately 0.10 ct.
      Round garnets, total approximately 0.30 ct.
      18K yellow gold and silver, length approximately 3 inches, accompanied with a letter of authenticity

      For similar examples please see:

      Literature:
      Elizabeth Irvine Bray, Paul Flato: Jeweler to the Stars, (2010), p. 126.

      Potential bidders who intend to export this lot are advised that certain permits may be required.
      Please contact the Jewels Department prior to bidding on this lot.

  • Catalogue Essay

    “Puffy Heart” jewels by Paul Flato are among his most iconic and collectible. Made instantaneously famous by style icon Millicent Rogers, these charming and sentimental pieces are both whimsical and bold at the same time.

    The allure, popularity and value of Paul Flato jewelry has survived more than half a century despite the many mishaps of its creator. With no marketing or advertising, nobody to authenticate pieces, nobody to serve as the face for the brand, and no legacy the Flato name has nevertheless stood the test of time by design alone. Consider how inherently precious, beautiful, and treasured Paul Flato pieces must be for them to have risen to prominence without the help of traditional levers that comparable large houses had at their disposal.

    Paul Flato began his meteoric rise to fame circa 1929. Despite numerous adverse events including the stock market crash, which heralded in the Great Depression, Flato’s company flourished and peaked from 1934 to 1939, in this period some of the world’s finest American made jewels were created.

    During this golden period of extraordinary success, despite sordid behavior, he managed to become the Jeweler to the stars. Many famous actresses including Greta Garbo, Mae West, Rita Hayworth, Joan Crawford, Doris Duke, Ginger Rogers, Carmen Miranda, Marlene Dietrich, Katharine Hepburn, Gloria Vanderbilt, Ingrid Bergman, Lily Pons, Jean Harlow, Vivien Leigh, Merle Oberon, Joan Bennett and others extensively wore his jewelry in the 1930s. It is said that Flato was the best jewelry salesman in the world, he knew his customer and was able to forge important interpersonal connections with them that helped launch him to stardom as well.

    Though Flato did not design, he managed to find extremely talented designers who deserve equal credit and recognition. Among these artists were head designer and creative genius Adolphe Klety, George Headley, Robert Bruce, Kenneth Brown (who designed the sapphire and diamond Marlene Dietrich fan earrings), Millicent Rogers, Josephine Forrestal, and Fulco di Verdura.
    Even though there were at least six designers working for Flato, a distinctive style emerged and
    distinguished itself from the celebrated European houses whose work, which in contrast, were slower to evolve. Each designer had distinctive drawing techniques. As the archive was amassed and researched it was clear which designers produced which pieces from signatures and the decerning eye of the owner of the archive.

    Paul Flato himself was an enigma. He did not graduate college, complete his Army stint, finish at Columbia, or complete any formal training in any discipline. He simply planted himself in New York City sometime in the late 1920s and became incredibly successful without being able to “draw a line”. His period of greatest productivity was from 1929 to 1943, but by 1943, Flato was bankrupt and there was nobody left to take the reins. Verdura branched out and formed his own company and assumed Flato’s customers, designs, and fame. Also, in 1943, Flato entered Sing Sing prison for the first of at least three prison terms, two in the US and one (or more) in Mexico. He was jailed in Mexico for the same illegal activities that landed him in prison in America. At one point, while in a Mexican prison awaiting extradition to U.S. for his crimes, he was also awaiting a second imprisonment in the U.S. During this time. Flato is believed to have had three or four failed marriages. Ward Landrigan in his video “Fulco and Flato” states that by 1939, Flato had a serious cocaine problem. What is often assumed is the somewhat glamorized version of Flato’s life that keeps repeating itself as reputation becomes myth. Collectors similarly remember the folklore about Suzanne Belperron’s alleged burning of her archives before her death. There wasn’t a trace of anything left until Oliver Baroin entered her apartment, which hadn’t been occupied for decades, which was replete with archives and the beginning of a book about her work. The glamorized versions of Flato’s history are to be taken with a side of skepticism.

    Other jewelers in the 1940s designed pieces that are reminiscent of Flato. This is the likely outcome of having no heir to champion and protect his brand. The jewels were made in America and of exquisite quality, some of the finest ever produced. When you study the Rose Leaf Bracelets or the Casablanca brooch, you realize that making these items today would be extremely difficult and expensive. Exceptional Paul Flato jewels are currently represented in museum and private collections worldwide and deserve their rightful place in the history of 20th century jewelry design. These are Hollywood Jewels – America’s Royalty. Many of the legendary pieces are still owned by the archive held by Dr. Pamela Lipkin, while others have been sold to Flato collectors. Elizabeth Irvine Bray’s statement in her book on Paul Flato, “Pamela Lipkin is a Flato expert in her own right,” has been many years in the making. The new generation of Flato collectors buying these works today will find their acquisitions a delight for generations to come as they become heirlooms.

PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT COLLECTION

85

A Coral, Multi-Gem, Gold, and Silver 'Puffy Heart' Brooch

Near round and button coral, 8.23 to 6.36 mm.
Round ruby, total approximately 0.70 ct.
Round sapphire, total approximately 0.70 ct.
Round emeralds, total approximately 0.10 ct.
Round garnets, total approximately 0.30 ct.
18K yellow gold and silver, length approximately 3 inches, accompanied with a letter of authenticity

For similar examples please see:

Literature:
Elizabeth Irvine Bray, Paul Flato: Jeweler to the Stars, (2010), p. 126.

Potential bidders who intend to export this lot are advised that certain permits may be required.
Please contact the Jewels Department prior to bidding on this lot.

Estimate
$8,000 - 12,000 

Sold for $10,080

Contact Specialist

Eva Violante

Senior Specialist, Head of Sale,

Jewellery

eviolante@phillips.com

+1 212 940 1316

Jewels

New York Auction 2 June 2022