"Nature, in all its exuberant irregularity, was a common passion for Jean Schlumberger and Rachel Lambert Mellon-he the legendary longtime Tiffany & Co. designer, she the philanthropic green thumb better known as Bunny. Little surprise then that these two self-taught tastemakers hit it off, developing an intimate friendship and exchanging many letters over the years as Mellon collected his dazzling zoomorphic and botanical creations. "Good morning my darling," read the entirety of a succinct missive, signed Johnny and emblazoned with his drawing of a flower."
"In 1965 she purchased one of the jeweler's earliest Bird on a Rock brooches: an emerald-eyed fledgling of canary and white diamonds, perched on a cabochon lapis lazuli. Legend has it that he took inspiration from a charismatic cockatoo encountered on his travels, perhaps to Asia, perhaps to his own Guadeloupe retreat. In the years since it first took flight, the motif has only continued to soar-morphing under the care of Schlumberger's successors into a full range of pendants, rings, earrings, and more."
"Nathalie Verdeille, the brand's chief artistic officer for all things jewelry related, zeroed in on the theme of flight. "We studied birds as Jean Schlumberger did-carefully observing their stances, their feathers, the structures of their wings-to create dynamic forms that seem to flutter and perch upon the wearer," she notes. Translating Schlumberger's original vision, Verdeille has created an array of plumed fine-jewelry treasures, including rings of platinum and 18k yellow gold, and a necklace bearing overlapping wings of diamonds and platinum."
Jean Schlumberger and Rachel Lambert Mellon shared a deep passion for nature and developed an intimate friendship built around his zoomorphic and botanical creations. Mellon acquired an early Bird on a Rock brooch in 1965, a canary-and-diamond fledgling perched on lapis lazuli, a motif reportedly inspired by a memorable cockatoo. The Bird on a Rock design evolved into a broad range of jewelry under Schlumberger's successors. Nathalie Verdeille focused on flight, studying bird stances, feathers, and wing structures to create dynamic pieces that appear to flutter and perch, including rings, a diamond-wing necklace, and convertible earrings.
Read at Architectural Digest
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