Florence Jay Gould

Florence Jay Gould was known as an emblematic character in the 1930s. As the wife of Frank Jay Gould, the son of the American railroad magnate Jay Gould, she and her husband turned the French Riviera into an exclusive hot spot for high society. She would also host a literary salon that included such famous names as Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, André Gide, Jean Cocteau, and Salvador Dalí.

She was already a devoted client of Van Cleef & Arpels when she gave Charles Arpels the idea for the Minaudière® precious case in the late 1930s. One day, Charles Arpels was surprised to see Florence Jay Gould putting all her accessories into a white metal Lucky Strike tin. This incident would inspire him to invent the ingenious box capable of holding all the objects a lady would need for an evening out.

This famous necklace set with the incredible "Blue Princess" sapphire was probably the most impressive piece in Florence Jay Gould’s collection. The 114-carat stone, brought back from India by Claude Arpels in 1956, was set alongside other sapphires and diamonds.

Florence Jay Gould owned many pieces by Van Cleef & Arpels, such as this Art Deco cigarette box embellished with multicolored “Plique à jour” enamel stylized with Egyptian-inspired Lotus motifs…

… This green-lacquer pocket mirror with onyx, pink quartz, nephrite, rubies, and yellow gold…

…And this ruby "Boule" ring in Mystery Set™, which she also owned set in emeralds and sapphires.

On a more playful note, this “Folie” (“madness”) clip is adorned with enamel, coral, yellow gold, and diamonds…

… While this "Martini" Cocktail charm bracelet gathers together all the ingredients necessary to prepare this drink: ice tongs with an ice cube, a Martini glass, a Vermouth bottle, a cocktail shaker, a gin bottle, and lemon zest. The charms are all set on a yellow-gold chain engraved with the measurements for each ingredient.