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Suzanne Belperron and Aimée de Heeren: A Friendship, a Necklace, a Rediscovery

BY SOTHEBY'S | APR 7, 2020

Never before seen on the international jewelry market, nor offered for sale at auction, a necklace by Suzanne Belperron (1900-1983) will be offered in Sotheby’s Joaillerie Paris sale on 10 June, as international dealers and collectors are all on high alert wondering who will win the bidding war for this piece, emblematic of Belperron's oevre.

“It is an exceptional piece from a private European collection, which I had never seen other than in a photograph carefully kept in the personal archives by the designer herself”, explains Olivier Baroin, expert for Suzanne Belperron and keeper of the designer’s own archives. “This necklace is, without a doubt, not a unique piece; it is one of those that was created at the end of the 1930s and then reproduced by the designer over decades”.

How many of these necklaces might exist? Difficult to be certain according to Baroin: ”Other pieces will probably resurface onto the market once this one has been revealed to both the press and the public. I cannot imagine that a piece of jewelry such as this would have been taken apart when handed down to any heirs: the aesthetic of this necklace, itself a true work of art, supersedes in this instance its intrinsic value.”

Influenced by the growing interest in African art, which was enthusiastically collected by French artists at the start of the 20th century, Suzanne Belperron designed this signature necklace at the end of the 1930s. The below drawing depicts a more slender variation of the necklace to be sold this Spring...

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A Tale of Two Whiskeys: Charting the History of Bowmore and Buffalo Trace Distilleries

Wine & Spirits Apr 7, 2020

In the late 18th century, two particular distilleries on opposing sides of the Atlantic were built.

The first, established in 1779, is Bowmore, a coastal distillery from the Scottish Island of Islay, famous for its saline, smoky spirit, that looks across the choppy waters of the Sound to the Mull of Kintyre.

The second, is Buffalo Trace, an American whiskey producer from the landlocked state of Kentucky, which has been renowned for its rich, sweet Bourbon since 1792.

Sitting pride of place in the center of Islay's biggest town, Bowmore is the oldest distillery on the island. The town of Bowmore was founded by Daniel Campbell, also known as Great Daniel, in 1768.

Great Daniel had been a politician in Glasgow in the years following the Act of Union in 1707, sitting for both the Scottish and British parliament. Daniel fell foul of his constituents when he voted in favor of the malt tax in 1713, an imposition which led to the Malt riots, otherwise known as the Shawfield riots, in 1725...

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