Jewellery, Watches and Objects of Vertu

An aquamarine set necklace by Puig Doria, the three row belcher-link chain necklace to central collet set heart-cut aquamarine, suspending two unequal length chain drops, each with a collet set pear-cut aquamarine terminal, mounted in yellow precious metal, signed ‘Puig Doria’ and stamped ‘750’, necklace length 61.5cm. £500-£700

PUIG DORIA is a Spanish Jewel House, founded in 1948 by José Maria Puig Doria who set up his first jewellery workshop on Cale Provenza, Barcelona. By 1958,, he bought the ground floor of the premises, where he exhibited and sold his designs. By 1969, the company had expanded considerably and relocated to its current premises, Avenida Diagonal 612. In 1976, with business continuing to grow, a new store was opened in Geneva and in 1984 in Japan, with three years later, a flagship store in the very centre of Barcelona and another in Valencia.

Jose’s jewellery has been characterised as combining the ‘precious and the trivial, the natural and the industrial, the exquisite and the mundane’, by combining new materials, such as coconut, ebony, titanium, even egg shell, with precious metals and gemstones. He received numerous awards and accolades during his long career, the highlight being in 2002 when he was presented the Creu de Sant Jordi Award, one of the highest civil distinctions awarded in Catalonia. He died in 2006 and the business continues under the management of the next generation of the family, Cristina and Beth Puig Doria together with José’s son, José Maria Puig Doria.