Jade and Lapis Lazuli Button Ear Clips Designed by Aldo Cipullo for Cartier, New York, 1972–74

Literature

cf. Becker, Vivienne. Aldo Cipullo: Making Jewelry Modern. Assouline: New York, 2021, p. 136–37.

Biography

Cartier was founded in Paris in 1847 by Louis-François Cartier. His three grandsons, Louis, Pierre, and Jacques, built the house into a famous international jewelry empire serving royalty, Hollywood stars, and socialites. Cartier has created some of the most important jewelry and objects of art of the twentieth century with many iconic designs such as mystery clocks, Tutti Frutti jewelry and the Panthère line. In 1983, The Cartier Collection was established with the objective of acquiring important pieces that trace the firm’s artistic evolution. Today, Cartier has 200 stores in 125 countries.

Significance

Jewelry designer Aldo Cipullo captured the vibrance of 1970s New York in hardstone and precious metals. This was a time of radical creative experimentation across literary, visual, and performing arts. Makers looked to question everything from boundaries to gender to the essence of art. Jean Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Christo, and Patti Smith were just some of the artists at work in the city. Bright colors and bold choices united their work and Cipullo absorbed all of it and brought it to the jeweler’s bench. In his short life he created some of the most important Cartier designs that remain a mainstay of the firm more than half a century later. His most recognizable design, the Love bracelet, a gender-neutral bracelet meant to be put on and off by a loved one with the use of a screwdriver, was recently estimated by The Times of London to drive more than one-third of the company’s annual $10 billion revenue demonstrating the enduring appeal of his designs.

Born in Italy in 1935, Cipullo grew up obsessed with all things American. While working for his father’s costume-jewelry company he dreamed of moving to New York. His blue jeans and Stetson hats earned him the nickname Aldo Americano. In 1959 he made the move to study at the School of Visual Arts. He then landed a job at David Webb, before moving to Tiffany alongside Gene Moore and David Claflin. When Tiffany turned down the concept for the Love bracelet, Cipullo took it to Cartier, starting a five-year partnership from 1969 to 1974 that changed the face of jewelry.

In addition to the Love bangle, Cipullo is known for Juste un Clou ( Just a Nail), Hands of the Heart (enormous hamsa hand necklaces), and geometric hardstone bracelets, necklaces and earrings. This pair of earrings, recognizably Cipullo, features two jade squares with rounded corners wrapped like a package (or a Christo sculpture) with a gold ribbon around it, centering a lapis lazuli cabochon at the center. The bright colors and rounded edges show the influence of Pop Art on the artist. This remarkable and iconic pair of earrings would be a wearable and important addition to any collection