Jean Michel Schlumberger (June 24, 1907 – August 29, 1987) was a major French

jewellery designer Jewellery design is the art or profession of designing and creating jewellery. It is one of civilization's earliest forms of decoration, dating back at least 7,000 years to the oldest-known human societies in Indus Valley Civilization, Mesopota ...

especially well known for his work at Tiffany & Co.

Family and early life

Schlumberger was born in then-German

Mulhouse Mulhouse (; ; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Mìlhüsa'' ; , meaning "Mill (grinding), mill house") is a France, French city of the European Collectivity of Alsace (Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region of France). It is near the Fran ...

, France, to a well-to-do family involved in textile manufacturing. His father was Paul Albert Edouard Schlumberger (1877–1952) and his mother was Elisabeth Schoen (1884–1942). He had four siblings;

Daniel Schlumberger Daniel Théodore Schlumberger (19 December 1904 – 21 October 1972) was a French archaeologist and Professor of Near Eastern Archaeology at the University of Strasbourg and later Princeton University. Biography After having been invited by ...

(1904–1972), Pascal Alfred (1911–1986), Isabelle Françoise Elisabeth and Jacqueline. He sketched constantly during his youth, although his parents tried to discourage his artistic interest by refusing to allow him to undertake formal training. Schlumberger began his career creating buttons for

Elsa Schiaparelli Elsa Schiaparelli ( , , ; 10 September 1890 – 13 November 1973) was an Italian fashion designer from an Italian nobility, aristocratic background. She created the Schiaparelli (fashion house), house of Schiaparelli in Paris in 1927, which she ...

in the 1930s. Schiaparelli later commissioned him to design costume jewelry for her firm. During World War II, Schlumberger was an officer in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

and survived the

Battle of Dunkirk The Battle of Dunkirk () was fought around the French Third Republic, French port of Dunkirk, Dunkirk (Dunkerque) during the Second World War, between the Allies of World War II, Allies and Nazi Germany. As the Allies were losing the Battle ...

. He also served under General

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

in England and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

with the

Free French Forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army ( ; AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (; FFL) during World War II. The military force of Free France, it participated ...

. After the war, Schlumberger came to New York and began to design clothing for Chez Ninon. In 1946, he opened a jewelry salon with his business partner Nicolas Bongard (1908–2000). Also, during the war Schlumberger met Lucien “Luc” Bouchage, a talented photographer and kindred spirit who would become his life partner.

Career at Tiffany & Co.

In 1956, the president of Tiffany & Co.,

Walter Hoving Walter Hoving (December 2, 1897 – November 27, 1989) was a Sweden, Swedish-born United States, American businessman and writer. He was the chairman of Tiffany & Company from 1955 to 1980. Early life Hoving was born in Stockholm on December 2, 1 ...

, asked Schlumberger to begin designing for the firm. He had his own workshop at the company until his retirement in the late 1970s and was eventually made a Vice-President. Schlumberger's designs at Tiffany & Co. were known for their whimsical interpretations of natural forms. He was especially inspired by sea creatures and other animals.

Diana Vreeland Diana Vreeland (September 29, 1903 – August 22, 1989) was an American fashion columnist and editor. She worked for the fashion magazine ''Harper's Bazaar'' and as editor-in-chief at '' Vogue'', later becoming a special consultant to the Costume ...

wrote that Schlumberger "appreciates the miracle of jewels. For him, they are the ways and means to the realization of his dreams." He quickly built an impressive client base to include the

Duchess of Windsor Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Spencer and then Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986) was an American socialite and the wife of Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor (former King Edward VIII). Their intenti ...

Babe Paley Barbara Cushing Mortimer Paley (July 5, 1915 – July 6, 1978) was an American magazine editor and socialite. Affectionately known as Babe throughout her life, Paley made notable contributions to the field of magazine editing. In recognition of ...

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress and a premier star during Hollywood's Silent film, silent and early Classical Hollywood cinema, golden eras. Regarded as one of the g ...

Mona von Bismarck Countess Mona von Bismarck-Schönhausen (''née'' Strader; February 5, 1897 – July 10, 1983), also known as Mona Bismarck, was an American socialite, fashion icon, and philanthropist. Her five husbands included Harrison Williams, among the ric ...

Rachel Lambert Mellon Rachel Lambert "Bunny" Mellon (August 9, 1910 – March 17, 2014) was an American horticulture, horticulturalist, gardener, philanthropist, and art collector. She designed and planted a number of significant gardens, including the White Hous ...

, Jayne Wrightsman, C.Z. Guest, Gloria Guinness, Françoise de Langlade,

Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent (born Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, ; 27 August 1968) was a Greek and Danish princess by birth and a British princess by marriage. She was a daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark and Gran ...

, Shirley Allen Marston, Lyn Revson,

Gloria Vanderbilt Gloria Laura Vanderbilt (February 20, 1924 – June 17, 2019) was an American artist, author, actress, fashion designer, heiress, and socialite. During the 1930s, she was the subject of a high-profile child custody trial in which her mother, ...

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 19 ...

and

Audrey Hepburn Audrey Kathleen Hepburn ( Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress. Recognised as a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend from the Classical Holly ...

. For his wife, Jacqueline,

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

purchased the Two Fruit clip in rubies and diamonds, which is in the permanent collection of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...

wore so many of Schlumberger's bracelets that the press dubbed them "Jackie bracelets". Schlumberger remains one of only four jewelers Tiffany & Co. ever allowed to sign their work: the others are

Paloma Picasso Paloma Picasso (born Anne Paloma Ruiz-Picasso y Gilot on 19 April 1949) is a French jewelry designer and businesswoman. She is best known for her collaboration with Tiffany & Co and her signature perfumes. The daughter of artists Pablo Picas ...

Elsa Peretti Elsa Peretti, OMRI OMM (1 May 1940 – 18 March 2021), was an Italian jewelry designer and philanthropist as well as a fashion model. Her jewelry and design pieces for Tiffany & Co. are included in the 20th century collection of the British Mu ...

and

Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry ( ; ; born February 28, 1929) is a Canadian-American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become attractions. Gehry rose to prominence in th ...

. Schlumberger was a very private person but liked to socialize among friends like

Cristóbal Balenciaga Cristóbal Balenciaga Eizaguirre (; ; 21 January 1895 – 23 March 1972) was a Spanish fashion designer, and the founder of the Balenciaga clothing brand. He had a reputation as a couturier of uncompromising standards and was referred to as "th ...

Emilio Terry Emilio Rene Terry y Sánchez (1890–1969), known as Emilio Terry was a French architect, artist, interior decorator and landscape designer of Cuban-Irish ancestry. Creating furniture, tapestries and objets d'art, he was influenced by the châtea ...

and

Hubert de Givenchy Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy (; 20 February 1927 – 10 March 2018) was a French fashion designer who founded the luxury fashion and perfume house of Givenchy in 1952. He is famous for having designed much of the personal and professi ...

. Schlumberger died in Paris aged 80 and is buried at

Isola di San Michele The Island of San Michele (, ; ) is an island in the Venetian Lagoon, Veneto, northern Italy. The island contains San Michele in Isola, a Roman Catholic church, as well as the San Michele Cemetery, Venice’s principal cemetery. It is associate ...

Tiffany Yellow Diamond

One of the most famous pieces Schlumberger ever created was the mounting for the famed Tiffany Diamond, which was in the firm's collection since the nineteenth century. The brooch, entitled "Bird on a Rock", incorporates the impressive yellow diamond in a fanciful setting typical of Schlumberger's style.

Awards

He was the first jewelry designer to win the coveted Fashion Critics’

Coty Award The Coty American Fashion Critics' Awards (awarded 1943–1984) were created in 1942 by the cosmetics and perfume company Coty to promote and celebrate American fashion, and encourage design during the Second World War. In 1985, the Coty Awards we ...

in 1958. In 1977, the French Government made him a Knight / Chevalier of

Ordre national du Mérite The (; ) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's establishment was twofold: to replace the large number of ...

References

External links

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Voguepedia - Designers - Jean Schlumberger
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schlumberger, Jean French jewellery designers Artists from Mulhouse 1907 births French Army personnel of World War II 1987 deaths Burials at Isola di San Michele Tiffany & Co. Free French military personnel of World War II French gay artists Gay military personnel French LGBTQ military personnel 20th-century French LGBTQ people