Printed from Woolley & Wallis

Description

Oscar Heyman & Brothers, a ruby and diamond ring, circa 1980, of bombé design, the invisibly-set rubies separated by lines of graduated brilliant-cut diamonds in platinum, size O, maker's mark OHB, numbered 155647, stamped PLAT, French maker's mark RM with beetle and pre-1994 French export assay mark for platinum on exterior of shank

Oscar Heyman is often known as the 'Jeweller's Jeweller', because the firm has quietly produced some of the most extraordinary American jewels of the 20th century, for some of the most famous jewellery houses. Oscar and his brother Nathan initially trained in their uncle's workshop in Karkhiv, Ukraine, which produced jewels for firms such as Fabergé. Becoming proficient in the use of platinum (which was a recent innovation), the brothers emigrated to America in 1906. They were employed by Pierre Cartier, who was establishing Cartier's New York branch at the time, before founding their eponymous firm in 1912. Heyman Brothers was renowned for their superb craftsmanship, and Heyman jewels can be found signed by jewellers such as Tiffany & Co., Black, Starr & Frost, and Marcus & Co. Perhaps their most fruitful collaboration came in 1939 with Van Cleef & Arpels, who were looking for a jeweller who could handle the technical demands of manufacturing their signature serti mysterieux jewels in America. This technique required stones to be specially cut for complete tesselation, and then specially incised once cut, allowing them to be slotted into metalwork grids, resulting a glittering, seamless surface of coloured gems with no visible settings. Oscar Heyman Brothers mastered this technique to the extent that it then became one of their own signature designs. The present lot showcases their command of this famously difficult technique, with the additional complication of setting the rubies across a curved surface, threaded with lines of brilliant-cut diamonds to give an illusion of cushioned fabric. Oscar Heyman Brothers still produces jewels of superb quality, and are now in their third generation of family ownership.