{"product_id":"french-c-bonnetaud-18ct-gold-pink-tourmaline-diamond-black-enamel-starfish-earrings","title":"French C. Bonnetaud 18ct Gold Pink Tourmaline, Diamond \u0026 Black Enamel Starfish Earrings","description":"\u003cp\u003eA wonderfully bold and sculptural pair of French starfish earrings by Catherine Bonnetaud, dating to circa the 1980s and made in richly textured 18ct yellow gold.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEach five-armed starfish centres on a smooth oval pink tourmaline cabochon, surrounded by deeply worked gold highlighted with black enamel and scattered with small brilliant-cut diamonds. The dark enamel settles into the engraved surface of the gold, accentuating the almost feathery texture of each arm, while the diamonds provide little flashes of light throughout.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey have fabulous presence on the ear: playful, glamorous and slightly eccentric, yet beautifully made. The combination of warm gold, glossy black enamel, vivid pink tourmaline and diamonds is particularly striking.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe earrings are signed C. BONNETAUD and bear French marks for 18ct gold.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCatherine Bonnetaud, who later worked under the name Catherine Bon, is a French artist, sculptor and jewellery designer born in Lyon in 1958. She trained in interior architecture at the École Camondo in Paris before working as a designer and draughtswoman for important jewellers in Paris and Geneva. Contemporary biographies credit her with designing for René Boivin, Harry Winston and Repossi, before she increasingly developed her own career as an artist and sculptor. A 2007 exhibition biography specifically identifies Bonnetaud as her real surname and records her transition from jewellery design into sculpture. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHer work as C. Bonnetaud can also be traced through the auction market. Christie’s has catalogued jewels signed “C. Bonnetaud pour Eva Segoura”, providing an important link between Bonnetaud and the colourful, highly sculptural jewellery associated with the Parisian designer Eva Segoura. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe starfish form makes this particular pair especially intriguing in light of Bonnetaud’s connection with René Boivin. After René Boivin’s death in 1917, his widow Jeanne Boivin took control of the maison and surrounded herself with an extraordinary succession of female designers, most notably Suzanne Belperron, Juliette Moutard and Germaine Boivin. Their bold use of scale, colour, natural forms and unconventional materials helped establish Boivin as one of the most distinctive jewellery houses of the 20th century. \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.sothebys.com\/en\/auction-catalogue\/2024\/iconic-jewels\/rene-boivin?utm_source=chatgpt.com\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAmong the house’s most celebrated creations were its extraordinary starfish jewels. Juliette Moutard developed the famous articulated Étoile de Mer designs in the 1930s, translating marine life into large, sculptural jewels that have since become icons of Boivin design.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese Bonnetaud earrings are not Boivin pieces, but the comparison is irresistible: the exaggerated natural form, strongly modelled gold, unexpected colour and sense of movement all recall the adventurous design language for which Boivin became famous. Given Catherine Bonnetaud’s own documented professional connection with the house, the resemblance makes them particularly fascinating examples of late 20th-century French jewellery.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Parkin and Gerrish","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57612271780213,"sku":"203M","price":13750.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0373\/3428\/6475\/files\/DSC_0599_5e4dc752-77a4-4c27-af2d-b21ea373d0fb.jpg?v=1790550274","url":"https:\/\/parkinandgerrish.com\/fr-nz\/products\/french-c-bonnetaud-18ct-gold-pink-tourmaline-diamond-black-enamel-starfish-earrings","provider":"Parkin and Gerrish","version":"1.0","type":"link"}