Van Cleef & Arpels Retro Diamond Watch in 18K

Retro jewelry, which flourished from the late 1930s through the 1950s, is characterized by chunky, bold designs, oversized forms, and a sense of glamour that reflected optimism during and after World War II. Unlike the delicate pieces of the earlier art nouveau and art deco periods, retro jewelry features dramatic curves, large, oftentimes semi-precious gemstones, and sculptural motifs such as bows, scrolls and flowers. Jewelers often used yellow and rose gold, sometimes combined, due to wartime platinum shortages. Synthetic rubies and sapphires were also common demonstrating the era’s innovation and adaptability. Retro jewelry embodies a blend of Hollywood-inspired luxury and wartime resilience, celebrating strength and confidence through striking, bold design.

Authenticating pieces of jewelry requires more nuanced expertise. Many thousands of pieces of jewelry have passed through our hands for over 40 years from every era and every maker. This familiarity enables us to know what a piece should look and feel like and if it has the expected quality of material and workmanship, the accurate makers marks and the correct signature in all the right places. Indeed, one of the easiest ways non-experts can be fooled is to assume a designer piece of jewelry is truly by that maker as pieces by commercial manufacturers are often outright fakes or signed fraudulently by a third party.
In practice, we first look at the front and back of a bracelet, ring or brooch, turning it over in our hands to see that the workmanship on the reverse is just as fine as the detail on the front. Using the jeweler’s important tool, the loupe, we look carefully at many different touchpoints including the precision with which the diamonds are mounted in their settings, the manner in which gold or platinum links are connected to each other, the quality of the azuring, a most difficult and refined aspect of metalwork, the fineness of the material and we look for flawless polish.
If we have any doubts whatsoever as to authenticity, we submit the piece to the firm itself, be it Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Verdura, David Webb and others. We also request the original bill of sale, box and papers for those items most commonly faked such as Cartier Love brackets and VCA Alhambra pieces. And just as banks know their customers, we, too, ensure we know enough about our clients to assure ourselves of their ownership and provenance.
Our team of GIA-certified jewelry experts has such a well-regarded reputation in the international jewelry industry that we are frequently called upon to advise auction houses, appraisers and other dealers in matters of authenticity and value.
We stand behind every piece with complete documentation, relevant GIA certification, and the best return policy in the industry, a full money-back guarantee, no exceptions.