The Bold and the Beautiful - Paloma Picasso

Paloma Picasso could hardly help being an artist. Born in 1949 as the youngest child to artists Pablo Picasso and Françoise Gilot, creativity is certainly in her blood. Even her name, Paloma, is tied to a great work of art. Paloma means “dove” in Spanish, and she was named after the dove that her father created to be the symbol of the International Peace conference in Paris the year of her birth. True to her birthright, the dove appears as a recurring theme in Paloma’s creations.

Paloma’s career began in Paris in 1968 with trips to the flea market that resulted in her creating costume jewelry. This helped her to gain critical notice and respect, which led her to brief stints as an accessories designer with Yves Saint Laurent and then designing jewelry for the Greek jeweler Zolotas.

In 1980, Picasso was approached by Tiffany & Co. to design a jewelry line, which she enthusiastically accepted. It was there that Paloma not only changed the look of modern jewelry, but the attitude towards it as well. She believed that jewelry was deeply personal and something that women should buy for themselves, rather than waiting for gifts from men. Her look is distinctively bold and almost always referred to as “statement jewelry” - created for a woman with the confidence to make a statement. When Paloma got her start, there were very few female jewelry designers, and having a woman design for women was greatly appreciated by the public. Women also couldn’t help but be drawn to her persona. She always wore deep red lipstick and exuded a European glamour that fascinated Americans.

Picasso’s jewelry often experimented with bright colors, textures and new materials. We recently purchased this hammered link bracelet and Zellige ring, which showcase different aspects of Picasso’s work. The bracelet is bold and heavy with an interesting “hammered” texture, while the ring, a carnelian inside a gold and diamond frame, although large, is more refined and focuses on color and pattern. Picasso remains one of Tiffany & Co’s most prolific designers, and her Zellige collection, to which this ring belongs, was launched in 2008. True to her idea that jewelry is personal, she based the collection on the Zellige tiles found in her home in Morocco, an art form that combines colorful enameled tiles in beautiful geometric motifs. Print this post