Recognising Boivin Jewellery

How do you go about recognising Boivin jewellery?

Despite having created some of Paris’ most celebrated and influential jewellery for more than eight decades, we still consider Boivin jewellery relatively elusive. Finding a Boivin jewel does not happen every day, but when you do, you’ll recognise the maison’s distinctive style.

History of Boivin Jewellery

René Boivin (1864-1917) & Jeanne Poiret (1871-1959).

For a firm named after one man, the jewellery house’s history and success were dominated by women. Having completed his apprenticeship, Boivin proved himself to be a master designer and engraver and established his own workshop in 1890. His wife Jeanne soon joined him in the business.

Each invested their talents in the business. René had an eye for design and colour and a willingness to experiment with materials. Jeanne brought her business acumen to run the workshop and accounts. Her innate sense of style and some influential friends were additional gifts to the maison. As the older sister to the famed couturier Paul Poiret, Jeanne recognised the potential of networking between both houses’ clients. The Boivins worked hard all day in the workshop and even harder networking at soirées.

René Boivin's jewellery often incorporated his love of nature. Floral brooches depicted foxgloves and orchids; René’s openness to using all gemstones, not just rubies, emeralds and sapphires resulted in naturalistic colour palettes. His sudden death aged 53 left a successful but still relatively young jewellery house. Unusually for the period, Jeanne took over the ownership and running of the business. She had a firm idea of the Boivin style and how she wanted to take it forward.

The Following 40 Years

Over the following 40 years, Madame René Boivin assembled a formidable team of female designers. Their daughter Germaine, had the same sense of colour as her father and joined the firm alongside Suzanne Belperron. Belperron achieved such design success for Boivin that she was invited to establish her own firm. This was with stone and pearl dealer Bernard Herz. Belperron’s departure allowed designer Juliette Moutard to rise in the ranks. She remained in the company’s stable of top designers until she retired.

All three women created their own interpretations of the Boivin style. Madame Boivin channelled her own design visions through them. Together, they embraced warm, curved jewels in yellow gold that offered their increasingly international clientele an exciting change from the platinum and diamond jewellery of the French Belle Époque jewellery and the geometric lines of the later Art Deco jewels made by their competitors.

Recognising Boivin Jewellery

Boivin's jewellery creations became so distinct that they needed few identifying features other than their style. The René Boivin necklace which sold in a Fine Jewellery auction is a case in point: it marries bold colours with unusual stone combinations and the curved shapes the maison championed.

If you look closely at the maison's jewels, many, like this necklace, display the French poinçon, or maker’s mark, for René Boivin, with the initials ‘RB’ stamped either side of a serpent. Yet, what really signs this necklace as Boivin is its confidence in its simplicity – Madame René Boivin knew what she was doing and she did it well.

Two rows of turquoise beads, graduated in size, are suspended on each side from a line of three rounded rock crystal beads, whilst the black-enamelled silver half hoop at the back of the necklace also features tapered curves that hug the neck and draw your eye to the beads. The concealed clasp in the hoop closes with a satisfying click – the sign of good craftsmanship.

Selling Boivin Jewellery

Fellows has an impressive track record of selling Boivin pieces through our Fine Jewellery auctions. The statement turquoise necklace above sold for over £40,000 (you can see it sell here). Boivin brooches are enduringly popular, typifying the maison's iconic style at a more modest price point.

If you would like to find out how much your Boivin jewellery could be worth, our valuations are free, with no obligation to sell with us. You can fill in a form online, or book an appointment whether virtually or at either our offices in Birmingham and London.