Jewelry of the 1930s: The Fashion of Single or Double Clip Brooches

The fashion of the 1930s-1940s favored the creation of the most characteristic jewelry of the time: the clip, whether single or double. Derived from the English word "clip," meaning "fastener" or "attachment," the clip was ubiquitous in the collections of major jewelers. 

An Infinite Variety of Uses

As highlighted by Vogue in August 1936: "The ways of using clips, for example, are infinite: one or two can be arranged diagonally along an oblique closure, in front or at the back. Several can be grouped in front on a belt. Two, placed in opposite directions, can hold a shoulder pad. A single one, sliding, can hold a handkerchief."

Suzanne Belperron particularly appreciated double clips. The ones she designed were spectacular in size and could either be worn separately or attached to each other using an invisible fastening system. Some were made of rock crystal enhanced with diamonds, featuring an inverted triangle shape topped with a band adorned with closely set diamonds, or a row of old-cut diamonds in another version. Her clips, whether single or double, could also be attached to a bracelet. An important removable motif in the form of a stylized snail, according to the whims of the day, adorned a bracelet where it could be fastened as a brooch on clothing. Elsewhere, there was a double clip in rock crystal and diamonds.

Technique and Imagination of Suzanne Belperron

There were times when Suzanne Belperron envisioned articulated jewelry, such as flowers or butterflies. Elegantly adorned with Flower brooches, they vibrated beautifully with every movement. Mention must be made of a fully articulated Flower clip brooch, with gold petals and a diamond pistil; and an articulated brooch, created around 1935, in blonde and white agate with an old-cut diamond pistil surrounded by coral cabochons, set in diamonds mounted in gold and platinum. An inexhaustible collection of floral variations lent themselves to the fantasies of their owners, alongside designs inspired by the world of insects, such as butterflies with movable wings, which Suzanne Belperron favored. These jewels only partially reflect her work.

Early Opposition to the Belperron Style 

In the article "Brooches and Bracelets, Glove Jewels" published in Vogue in March 1935, the journalist contrasts trends among jewelers. He compares the supple style with Suzanne Belperron's "rigid style." Thanks to their perfection and technical prowess, he writes, the delicate flexible mount jewels can compete with a piece of crumpled fabric. Examples given include a Cartier bracelet resembling a ribbon, wound around the wrist and fastened with a bow made of two loops passing through each other; a necklace from Boucheron crafted in platinum and diamonds, a triumph of flexibility, lightness, and delicacy; and a clip from Mauboussin, fastened on the edge of a neckline, evoking a ribbon or scallop. He contrasts these jewels with the "solid set" of a set in agate and amethyst by Suzanne Belperron. However, the journalist cannot help but admire the bracelet, whose double ring of agate cut from a single piece is punctuated with an amethyst cabochon.