Jewellery, Watches and Objects of Vertu

A three colour precious metal and cultured pearl necklace by Pierre Baltensperger, 1970s, designed with juxtaposed linked cylindrical hoops of varying sizes, the larger hoops inset with a cultured pearl of white, pink, grey, silver or black hue, the clasp signed ‘BALTENSPERGER’ with maker’s mark in oval punch and stamped ‘750’, together with a copy of original receipt from Pierre Baltensperger & Cie, Zurich, dated 19th March 1974, neckace length approximately 45cm. £8,000-£10,000

Pierre Baltensperger (1927-1999) was born in Zurich, Switzerland, into a family of jewellers. His grandfather Walter Baltensperger had founded the retail and manufacturing jewellers on the Bannhofstrasse in Zurich in 1878.

Pierre completed a goldsmithing apprenticeship in Zurich and studied in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. From 1950, he took over the company from his grandfather, and successfully ran the business until 1985, when he passed the management on to his son Stefan, enabling him to concentrate on his paintings and sculpture. He was part of a Swiss artistic movement known as ‘Zurich Fantastic Realism’, his work recognised for its extreme technicality and experimental nature.