The New Double Clip
The possibilities of the double clip, however, are too great to be abandoned. The flat symmetrical two-part clip has been supplanted by a more dynamic, three-dimensional variety which when used as a unit gives no indication that it is a double clip. The two separate clips are so made that they intricately but intimately conjoin into one unit, a striking jewel.
Separated, the two clips become two different jewels, of different sizes and possibly even different designs, though of course harmonious. Each remains a sculptured piece; that is, it has a three-dimensional quality. The two may be worn on different occasions. The smaller might well become a suit, the larger adorn a dress. Or the two, used at the same time but not fused, might make attractive parts of a parure on more formal occasions. On a square neckline, the two different clips may be so used as to create a different yet balanced charm. Or one may give a fresh touch to the hat, or grace the bag, while the other is worn on the dress. By repeating a design in two sizes, or presenting two harmonious motifs, the double clip increases the potentialities of the jewel for variety in beauty, while as a unit it creates a striking effect of individuality and power.
The Abstract Design
Today, in brooches and clips, two basic patterns are in favor: the ornamental, abstract design, and the flower motif. The woman who likes tailored jewelry will inevitably be drawn to the more geometrical designs. While these may at times be shapes of deep yellow or varicolored gold, they will usually be achieved with the aid of shimmering bands of baguette diamonds, contrasted with round diamonds and colored stones. Without regard to the loss of weight from uncut stone, jewelers are now shaping diamonds in many fancy cuts—which only the most flawless gems can sustain—for the sake of the pattern of the entire jewel.
The potentialities of the abstract design are far from being exhausted, and a jeweler who is a genuine artist has here a fertile field. If a woman has selected a jeweler as carefully as she has chosen her coiffeur, and finding him good has continued to seek his counsel, he should be able to suggest or to create a clip that will both express and illuminate her personality.
Several general designs lend themselves to personal variations. Among these, I recommend a clip with baguette tassels from which pear-shaped diamonds are suspended. There are also attractive tailored-looking pins of a feather design, which, in gold or platinum, are effective on many occasions. Various loops and bows can be ingeniously intertwined. Among completely abstract clip designs are some like lacy seaweeds. Others will suggest themselves and may be fashioned to suit every occasion and taste.
The Flower Design
Less novel than the abstract designs but perhaps more lasting in its effect of peaceful beauty is the flower clip. Since the development of photography, few artists have tried to make exact copies of nature. Those who wish to see exact reproductions of flowers in glass may go to the Harvard Museum in Cambridge. The artist in jewelry seeks to suggest the essence of the flower, its shape, its color, the softness of its petals. (An astute woman may select her perfume to suggest the flower’s fragrance.) Today even such hard metals as platinum or palladium may be so handled as to convey the delicacy of the bloom.