METAL: 18k (750) yellow gold (French assay marks)
COLOURED DIAMONDS: circular coloured diamonds
DIAMONDS: circular diamonds with an approximate total weight of 9.00-11.00 carats
SAPPHIRES: marquise-cut sapphires
ONYX: buff-top onyx
CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY: René Boivin Joaillier, 2022
DATE: circa 1980
MARKS: signed R.Boivin, maker’s mark

SIZE/DIMENSIONS: pendant 9.0 x 2.9 cm, chain 52.0 x 0.5 cm
GROSS WEIGHT: 166.7 grams

Cf. F.Cailles, René Boivin Jeweller, Quartet Books Limited, London, 1994, p 373 for a similar pendant.

“Women have understood that the rarity and splendour of jewellery is their only key to elegance. the present trend is towards chunky (means bulky and thick) jewellery - heavy, sumptuous pieces like Boivin's Jewellery”. September 1933, Vogue (Article on the evolution of women's Jewellery).

From 1917 to 1959, the House of Boivin was run by Jeanne Boivin, widow of the founder, in close collaboration with her daughter, Germaine, and the designer Juliette Moutard, all of whom had a particular predisposition for pieces inspired by the animal kingdom.
The Boivin menagerie is composed of many species of the animal kingdom, including the lion, king of the jungle. Introduced in 1956, the first lion was a pendant in oxidised silver and gold with diamonds. Over the years, it has evolved into a much more elaborate design. One example is the "Panthère" necklace based on Juliette Moutard's notebooks, which are filled with lively and funny illustrations of various types of fauna and flora.

The Boivin jewellery is based on polychrome compositions elaborated from complex drawings. The result is an imposing object with a comfortable feeling of weight: in short, a sculpture. It is also characterised by a remarkable fluidity: it articulates and follows the movements of the wearer. A deliberate choice that adds a structural dimension to the jewel, making it fascinating to wear, to look at and to touch.

Finally, the Boivin style suggests strength and density and radiate a tremendously strong aura. Despite the decades, Boivin's work has never lost its modernity.

Please note this lot is the property of a consumer. See H1 of the Conditions of Sale.