I was wondering the same thing, what is a parure? Well, the word parure is derived from the old french verb for "adorn," and refers to an entire suite of jewelry, often designed to be worn all at once. Today, a true parure is a set of jewelry consisting of at least 3 matching items. A set with only 2 matching items, like the one pictured above, is called a demi-parure.
This clip earring and pin set was made in the 1950s/60s by renowned American jewelry designer Marcel Boucher. Boucher was born in France where he honed his jewelry skills working for Cartier. He began designing jewelry in New York City for the Mazer company in the 1930s, after emigrating to the United States. In 1937, he started his own company, creating unique jewelry never seen before on the market, using various materials including faux pearls and the finest rhinestones. Today, his jewelry with animal and bird motifs are particularly collectible. After his passing in 1966, his wife continued the company until 1979, when it was acquired by D'Orlan. D'Orlan still produces high quality pieces today, even using some of Boucher's original molds, but his imaginative creations are sadly missed.
Feel free to contact me if you are interested in purchasing this piece. Questions, comments, and additional information are always appreciated. My online shop on http://www.etsy.com/ is coming soon.
Thank you to the following website(s) for the historical content of this blog post:
Collectors Weekly. Retrieved on 1/12/2011 from http://www.collectorsweekly.com/costume-jewelry/parure
Class Option. Retrieved on 1/12/2011 from http://www.classyoption.com/jewelry/MarcelBoucherJewelry1.html
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