Legacy Jewellery Houses from the 18th and 19th Centuries are Back, and They’re More Relevant than Ever
by JESSLYN LYE
19 JUNE 2024
A growing interest in jewellery designs from the 18th and 19th centuries has been spurred by the FX series ‘Feud: Capote vs the Swans’
Earlier this year in the FX drama Feud: Capote vs the Swans, the dramas of New York high society socialites in the ’60s and ’70s were laid bare. An unlikely protagonist emerged: the distinct, opulent jewels of the era. There is a scene of socialite and former Vogue editor Babe Paley, after a cancer diagnosis, surrounded by her jewels and doling them out to friends. A particular piece catches the eye of one of Paley’s friends—a rubellite Verdura bracelet.
The show has since spurred a growing interest and fever for designs from those decades, and particularly designs by jewellers whose names had otherwise lost their lustre to time. Duke Fulco di Verdura, for one, was a designer of bold, sculptural pieces who made a mark on 20th-century fine jewellery. Before founding his eponymous brand in 1939, the Sicilian aristocrat was the head jewellery designer at Chanel and the man who introduced Maltese cross cuffs to Gabrielle Chanel.
