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Ella Gafter Dragonfly Brooch Sapphire Diamond 18mm Pearl

Name: Ella Gafter Dragonfly Brooch Sapphire Diamond 18mm Pearl
Brand: Ella Gafter
Price: 39800 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

The dragonfly brooch features a voluminous Australian South Sea Pearl of 18mm diameter. The pearl is untreated. It displays a nacre of fine quality and its natural color and luster have not been enhanced in any way. The tail is set with 13 carats of faceted oval cut blue Ceylon sapphires. The wings are decorated with tinted New Zealand paua shell (abalone) topped by transparent crystal, lending the jewel a distinctly art déco look. The design is complete with 1.31 carats of round diamonds of top quality (F-G/VVS) and blue sapphire eyes. The three-dimensional brooch is one-of-a-kind. It was handmade in Italy in our own workshop with exquisite knowhow by the late maestro Franco Napolitano, according to an original design by Ella Gafter. The item is signed EG.

Creator:

Ella Gafter

Metal:

18k Gold,White Gold

Stone:

Sapphire,White Diamond,South Sea Pearl,Blue Sapphire,Crystal,Diamond

Stone Cut:

Round Cut

Weight:

46 g

Dimensions:

Width: 4 in (101.6 mm)Depth: 0.8 in (20.32 mm)Length: 4 in (101.6 mm)

Style:

Artist

Place of Origin:

Italy

Period:

21st Century

Date of Manufacture:

Unknown

Condition:

Seller Location:

New York, NY

Reference Number:

Seller: 1340x1stDibs: LU80233180833

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Shop All Ella Gafter

Ella Gafter

Even before Ella Gafter founded her namesake jewelry collection in 1982, she was a formidable presence in the jewelry industry.

As a Rome-based gem dealer, Gafter sold pearls and precious stones to retailers and jewelers but was often dissatisfied with how they made use of the rare materials she worked so hard to source. Instead of grousing, she decided to design jewels that would do them justice, focusing primarily on pearls — akoya, Tahitian and South Sea. She explains her fascination with the lustrous marine treasures simply: “Every woman looks better with pearls than without.”

Her daughter Talila Gafter, then an undergrad at Harvard, was her ally in getting the project off the ground. Together, they made the rounds to stores with Ella’s first efforts. “We had a little pouch with eight pieces and we sold everything,” Talila tells 1stDibs. After graduation, she “was involved one hundred percent” in building the company, whose pieces are handmade by master jewelers in Naples.

The designer insists that her unwavering focus is the source of her success. “There’s no compromising for me,” she says. She’s been known to replace the pearls in a single piece time after time until she’s certain she’s achieved her ideal result. “A pearl you have to respect,” she explains. “You have to put it where it wants to sit.”

Ella describes the collaboration with her daughter as a “partnership,” with each having her own domain. “I’m all fantasy; Talila is the concrete one,” she says. The company is now based in New York City, with Talila as its president while Ella is firmly at the helm of creative decisions. “I’ve never made a design suggestion to Ella,” says Talila. “Nobody does.”

That forbearance has been earned, says Talila. “I admire that Ella doesn’t take no for an answer, her tenacity, her extraordinary ambition. She believes as long as there is life, there is a lot of beauty to create. She’s a force of nature.”

Find Ella Gafter earrings, rings, necklaces and other jewelry on 1stDibs.