Credit: Tiffany & co
When people talk about jeweled clasps or details, they often mean something that resembles a piece of jewelry, but made from costume jewelry materials. Not so with the bags in Tiffany's Ribbons collection, which take a classic motif from the house and have precious clasps, made of 18-karat gold and diamonds, that can be detached and used like brooches.
First used for the famous Ribbon Rosette yellow diamond necklace worn by Audrey Hepburn during the promotion of the film Breakfast at Tiffany's in 1961, the Ribbon motif was designed by artist Jean Schlumberger apparently inspired by the textile business of his family of origin. A year later the designer took up the design to create a collection of gold accessories dedicated to the modern woman's necessities, such as cigarette cases and makeup cases.
It is that very cigarette case that is taken up today by Tiffany for the Ribbons collection, consisting of a shoulder bag and a minaudière available with a clasp in four variations: two-tone; enameled; vermeil gold; and 18k gold with diamonds, which also features a 24k gold clasp that allows the bag to be closed even while wearing the button as jewelry
Vermeil means silver coated with a thickness ranging from 2.5 to 5 microns of gold, unlike plated gold where the plating has a thinner thickness, thus more prone to deterioration.
The enameled clasp, on the other hand, incorporates the paillonné enamel technique, much used by Jean Schlumberger, a 19th-century artistic technique that requires the hot application of translucent enamel on gold foils.
“I think a piece of jewelry needs meaning: its style must be rational and understandable, the volumes balanced, and the components must create a symmetry of details that need not be visible but must be perceived on an emotional level.” Jean Schlumberger
