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The Jeweler ... The Actors ... and The Hand of God.
It's the late 1930's. We're in the heyday of Hollywood. If there was ever
a jeweler to the stars ... it was an American named Paul Flato. He
existed in the spotlight of an entourage of the famous ... and perhaps
infamous. Much of his jewelry appeared in films. He boasted among his
clientele such names as: Merle Oberon ... Mae West ... Lily Pons ... Fanny
Brice ... Paulette Goddard ... Katherine Hepburn ... and a myriad of others.
Much of Flato's designs had a whimsical twist to them as well as an
inordinate sense of beauty and a strict adherence to craftsmanship. Not
a bad combination ... eh wot folks? Alas ... in the 1940's ... Flato's business
collapsed. No one seems to truly know why. Some say that when WWII
erupted ... jewelry sales plummeted ... and he couldn't hang on. But it
all doesn't matter ... for the man left behind a legacy of jewelry and
creativeness.
And so I had to pick a piece out of the many pieces I had from which to
pick. Sound a bit like Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers ...
doesn't it? I chose a bit of fancy of his entitled Hand of God ... which
is a brooch on a chain which was worn by Joan Bennett for an RKO
publicity shot. It's a representation of a palm-reader's diagram and has
pavé set diamond stars on an 18 karat yellow gold hand. The stars represent
Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Apollo, Mercury, Mars, and the Moon ... all
epitomizing the seven virtues associated with the gods. Not being
the most virtuous of men ... I must herewith confess that I have no clue
as to what the seven virtues are. I imagine one might be: Thou shalt not
eat too much cholesterol ... but then again ... that might be more of a
commandment than a virtue ... and also a tad more modernistic than
was intended by Flato. Any help here would be greatly appreciated.
Parenthetically ... Bennett also commissioned Flato to create a replica
of a cigar-band wedding ring in 18 karat gold. I searched for that one
... but alas met with failure. It's the item I truly wanted to see for myself
... and then pass it on to you. T'warn't to be folks. Maybe another Tidbit
at another time. For now ... The Hand of God ... by Paul Flato ... for Joan
Bennett. It's unique ... and it's striking.
For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits...may I
direct you to my home page at www.tyler-adam.com where you will scroll
down the left side menu till you get to the area that says Tidbits...and then
click on the link that says: Hand ... where you will see a graphic of our
brooch.