Books & Exhibitions

The Musings of a Master Jeweler

An exhibit explores objects by André Chervin and his team at Carvin French

by Marion Fasel

December 10, 2023—It takes a village to make a piece of fine jewelry. For a designer to complete their vision, they work with model makers, stone setters and polishers among others. Of course, some designers are bench jewelers and can do it all, but they are the exceptions to the rule.

Most of the contributors to the creation of a jewel remain anonymous and the name of the House or designer who conceived it is stamped in the precious metal. True jewelry aficionados, however, seek out information about the manufacturers that also sometimes leave their mark on the piece. Other times they are known by reputation to have worked for a designer. Carvin French is one of those manufacturers that has been recognized and admired by the jewelry cognoscenti for a very long time.

Now, after almost 70 years working behind-the-scenes, André Chervin and his firm Carvin French are having a moment in the spotlight with Enchanting Imagination: The Objets d’Art of André Chervin and Carvin French Jewelers at the New-York Historical Society. The exhibition curated by Deborah Schmidt Bach, who also co-authored the accompanying catalogue with Jeannine Falino, has around 60 bejeweled objects, clocks and lamps. Due to the popularity of the delightful show that opened on September 8, it has been extended through March 17, 2024.

The story of Carvin French began in 1954 when André Chervin and his partner Serge Carponcy (who retired in 1983) established their manufacturing firm in New York City with a $2,000 investment. The founders last names inspired the portmanteau Carvin. French is a hat tip to their native France where André and Serge trained and emigrated from after World War II.

Over the years Carvin French meticulously built a reputation and gained an esteemed clientele. Cartier, Harry Winston, Tiffany & Co. and Van Cleef & Arpels as well as designers Christopher Walling and Tina Chow were among those who entrusted Carvin French to manufacture their designs. This list proves Carvin French craftsmen were capable of expertly executing work in dramatically different styles.

Duke Fulco di Verdura, who was the first famous designer to engage Carvin French, initially employed the firm’s enamellist to execute his unique blend of Renaissance-Baroque inspired jewelry. Fulco would go on to entrust Carvin French with nearly 50% of the production of his designs.

During the 1960s, André Chervin enjoyed a close working relationship with Tiffany’s designer Donald Claflin who infused important jewelry with a sense of humor. Oh, to be a fly on the wall during the days when Donald was a fixture at Carvin French working out the details of manufacturing with André for the sophisticated and playful series inspired by children’s literature including a Stuart Little mouse brooch decked out in a blue enamel sailor suit and sparkling diamond body. One can only imagine the fun they must have had.

Nicola Bulgari, who relocated from Rome to New York City in the early 1970s to run the first Bulgari branch outside of Italy, formed a fast friendship with André Chervin and employed Carvin French to manufacture Bulgari designs. The bold statement pieces Carvin made carried the signature design elements of the Italian jeweler’s Roman creations, but there is something just so about the proportions that reveal they came out of the New York shop.

While a few pieces Carvin French manufactured for these illustrious names in jewelry are featured in Enchanting Imagination, the exhibition is about the objects, lamps and clocks designed by André Chervin and manufactured by the Carvin French jewelers.

 “These are my own expressions,” explains André in Enchanting Imagination. “These are my art, pure and simple. These are my true freedom.”

The creations were explorations in design and ideas André indulged in with his team when they had spare time between jobs. In consideration of how busy the workshop always was these objects were made over very extended periods. It’s the reason the dates are left off of the descriptions entirely.

As a jewelry historian there is, however, an irresistible urge to try and date the designs. It’s tempting for me to think perhaps the minimalist clocks André says were inspired by the Op Art of Victor Vasarely might have crossed his mind during the 1970s when the artist’s work was at a peak of popularity. There is a distinct 1950s feeling to pieces like My Heavy Heart featuring a heart-shaped citrine in a gold wheel barrel.

One of the few thread lines drawn between the manufacturing of Carvin French and the creative work done for others in Enchanting Imagination is the carved coral strawberries featured in Claflin’s 1960s Tiffany bracelet and coral strawberries with nephrite leaves overflowing from a quartz glass in a piece conceived by André. He explains that the Claflin bracelet and memory of fresh strawberries from his childhood in France were in his mind when he came up with the work.

A wide swath of pieces in Enchanting Imagination link to the great objects of 20^th century masters. Fabergé clearly ignited André’s artistry over the years. Feels like he might have been thinking about Louis Comfort Tiffany’s glass lamps when he made The Frogs’ Rubies boudoir lamp. He also riffed on things like Art Deco cigarette holders and small hand-held boxes. It is possible clocks made by the manufacturer Maurice Coüet for Cartier got André’s creative juices flowing for his clocks.

In many ways, the work André Chervin conceived and the Carvin French jewelers created was a dialogue with jewelry history and a bit of one-upmanship with craftsman from the past. It was a personal exercise in a level of excellence. All of it captures a deep passion, extraordinary talent and the feeling of joy in jewelry.

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