"Bijoux De Haute Couture Collection Robert Goossens" 2000
$750
PLAZY, Gilles et BIZOT, Chantal
[111] pp.
Editions Plume
2000
10 1/2" x 8 1/2"
A scarce history of the jeweller Robert Goossens and his work for the great couturiers of the twentieth century. Goossens supplied Chanel, Balenciaga, Madame Gres and Dior with jewellery to complement their couture clothes. His designs are bold with a mix of faux and real, precious and semi-precious, stones. The book is beautifully illustrated with photographs of individual pieces.
Robert Goossens (30 January 1927 – 7 January 2016) was a French jeweller who became known as Monsieur Bijou. The son of a metal foundry worker, he was born in Paris, France. In his younger years, he served an apprenticeship in jewelry making, perfecting the techniques of casting, engraving, and embossing semi-precious and simulated stones into gold and silver metals. In his decades of creating fine jewelry, Goossens mixed the genuine stones with the fakes, a blend of the artificial gems with the semi-precious for clients including Coco Chanel, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent, Madame Grès, Christian Dior and others.