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Jean Schlumberger

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Craftsman

The Resume

    (June 24, 1907-August 29, 1987)
    Hired by Elsa Schiaparelli in 1938
    Went into the French Army in 1941 and then opened a store in NYC (1948)
    Hired by Tiffany & Co. (1957)

Why he might be annoying:

    His name is hard to pronounce (Shloom-ber-shzay).
    He had no formal training in jewelry.
    He preferred the company of high society.
    Many of his items could only be purchased by the wealthy.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He put his career on hold to serve in the French Army and de Gaulle's Free French forces during World War II.
    He is probably the most famous jeweler Tiffany & Co. is known for.
    He got inspiration for his jewelry from a library with illustrated volumes on lace, plants, flowers and fish.
    He was self-taught, without any formal jewelry training.
    He was born to a wealthy French family of textile merchants and had a number of design jobs before he got into jewelry. Among them, designing textiles in the US, posters for a book publisher in France and perfume packaging for the French clothing designer Lelong.
    Lelong fired Jean claiming he did not show any potential.
    Legend has it that a depressed and newly-fired Jean headed to a flea market and bought 220 porcelain flowers, then transformed them into small brooches.
    The brooches caught the attention of French clothing designer Elsa Schiaparelli (1890-1973), who hired him in 1938.
    The art of Salvadore Dali influenced Jean's jewelry designs.
    Jewelry historians Penny Proddow and Marion Fasel have described his work as 'Provocative, edgy, and as haunting as jewelry can be.'
    Diana Vreeland wrote of him: 'It was really Schlum who revived enamel, a 19th-century art we really hadn't seen at all in the 20th century.'
    He was the first jeweler to receive a Coty fashion award (1957).
    Elizabeth Taylor's legendary jewelry collection contains several of his pieces.
    Though he died in 1987, he left so many sketches in the Tiffany archives that it will keep the firm producing his work for years to come.
    He is considered to be one of the best jewelry designers in history.

Credit: Ryan Thompson


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 5 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 8 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 13 Votes: 61.54% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 9 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 10 Votes: 30.0% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 30 Votes: 56.67% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 27 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 30 Votes: 56.67% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 60 Votes: 46.67% Annoying
    In 2006, Out of 105 Votes: 53.33% Annoying
    In 2005, Out of 175 Votes: 58.29% Annoying
    In 2004, Out of 191 Votes: 61.26% Annoying