BOUCHERON SAPPHIRE CUFFLINKS - of stirrup design, each with curb-link arch to a hinged chamfered

BOUCHERON SAPPHIRE CUFFLINKS - of stirrup design, each with curb-link arch to a hinged chamfered bar with sugar loaf sapphire terminals, c.1951, signed and numbered Boucheron Paris 32243, French control marks for gold, gross weight 15.0 grams.

Boucheron is a French jewelry house founded in 1858 by Frédéric Boucheron, who designed finely worked pieces, lavish with sensuality and mystery. The jeweler mastered a wide range of golds as well as precious gems like rubies and peridots. His jewelry was inspired by motifs from nature like the snake, chosen as the jewelry house`s symbol. The first Boucheron boutique was established in 1858 in the Galerie de Valois at the Palais Royal in Paris. A few years later, Frédéric Boucheron opened an atelier and began working with his nephew, Georges Radius, until 1919. The play on shapes, manipulations of the material and combinations of gems had found their audience by the end of the 19th century. Boucheron was now attracting a refined clientele of writers, artists and princes drawn to the fine French designs.

In 1883, Frédéric Boucheron reached a new level of success when he opened a boutique at the Comtesse de Castiglione`s residence at 26 place Vendôme in Paris. When Fédéric Boucheron died in 1902, his son, Louis, took over the jewelry house. As heir, he contributed to the label?s development, by reaching beyond France`s borders. He opened a boutique in Moscow which then relocated to Saint Petersburg in 1911. Louis Boucheron also established a valuable collaboration with the young jeweler, Pierre Sterlé.

In 1954, his children, Fred and Gérard Boucheron, were next to take over the brand. Maintaining the inherited expertise, they established the label in Japan during the 1970s, during which time Jane Birkin posed with Serge Gainsbourg holding a Boucheron diamond necklace. Alain Boucheron became head of the company in 1971,and in 2000, the Gucci group acquired the Boucheron jewelry house. Under the direction of Jean-Christophe Bedos, new boutiques were inaugurated in Shanghai, Dubaï, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur in 2005. A year later, Boucheron reissued Alexander McQueen`s Novak bag embellished with jewels in the form of the house`s iconic snake. In 2007, Boucheron was the first jeweler to open an e-commerce shop in Europe. That same year, the house joined forces with watchmakers Girard-Perregaux to design exclusive timepieces, still available today. In 2008, the house celebrated its 150 years and in 2011, Claire Choisne was named creative director of the jewelry house at Place Vendôme. After a century and a half, the Boucheron jewelry house has become an important reference of fine jewelry and timepieces.