Gripoix Glass Jewelry – Getting a Grip on an Identity Crisis

By Pamela Wiggins Siegel

As a lover of adornment, I have a few pet peeves. One big one is misidentifying jewelry components as Gripoix glass. Gripoix (pronounced gre-pwuh) is a term misused repeatedly. And when I say repeatedly, I can’t add enough overs to over and over to convey the problem. This is likely a monkey-see, monkey-do situation for many novice sellers. They see brightly colored cabochon stones in jewelry and think it’s Gripoix glass because someone else called it that.

Other times, I feel quite sure the sellers are educated enough to know better and do some keyword stuffing to try to get more eyes on their goods and make a sale in a competitive market. Either way, it’s an issue widely found across the internet, so it never hurts to get the word out to a few more folks who value being educated. Let’s start with some background on Gripoix.

Gripoix Glass Basics

Gripoix glass was first made in Paris in 1869 by Augustine Gripoix. She already had a reputation for adeptly creating simulated pearls and branched out to add poured glass (known as pâte de verre in French) to her offerings. Using the poured glass technique to create jewelry components, melted glass is literally drizzled into a metal frame. From the front, they look amazing, but they can be a little messy when viewed from the back, depending on the style.

Many of these little beauties are shaped like flower petals and leaves. The handmade nature makes each one a bit unique and costly to produce. They were used in jewelry made for some of the most well-known couture houses in the early 1900s, and some of those relationships continued for years thereafter. Poured glass elements, however, were not used by American manufacturers like Trifari and Coro as some online resources will lead you to believe. The designs produced by those companies were made with molded glass petals or leaves surrounded by metal in imitation of poured glass.

Other types of glass components in every color imaginable have been made by Gripoix as well. Among these are small drops of glass and little lozenge shapes that look almost good enough to eat. They also have produced many beads in a variety of shapes that are used as accents or mounted on wires for use in complex designs. Some have texture, although many are smooth. Faux pearls have also continued to be a mainstay for Gripoix, including many large oval-shaped examples collectors sometimes describe as “potato” pearls.

 

Gripoix branded long necklace with glass “potato” pearls, early 2000s, $400-$600.
Photo courtesy of Jay B. Siegel

Learning to distinguish Gripoix glass from ordinary molded glass cabochons isn’t hard. Molded cabochons can often be colorful just like Gripoix glass, but they’re mass-produced rather than made by hand. That means molded cabochons will be more uniform in shape and size when compared to Gripoix components. Examining the back, you won’t ever see that less-than-perfect look where glass was poured into a frame. And while molded glass can contain bubbles, they’re often more noticeable in older poured glass components. The bubbles, in fact, give the components a light and airy look that adds to their beauty. Being made in France, they’re also seen in high-end European jewelry rather than American-made pieces.

Brands Associated with Gripoix

On rare occasions, you will run across a piece of vintage jewelry made in the United States that contains a genuine example or two of poured glass. Some contemporary designers, including Chris Crouch for his Moans Couture brand, have been successfully producing poured glass elements and employing them in jewelry, too. These are described as Gripoix by sellers sometimes, even though they were made by Crouch. Much more often, though, Gripoix components are found in French jewelry, with Chanel designs being some of the most famous.
By the time Coco Chanel first worked with the House of Gripoix in the 1920s, Augustine Gripoix had already made stage-worn jewelry for the famed actress Sarah Bernhardt, along with the Charles Worth couture house. She also partnered with the famed French fashion designer Paul Poiret. It was her daughter, Suzanne Gripoix, who continued to grow the business working with Jean Piguet and Jeanne Lanvin, along with creating jewelry for Chanel.

Chanel Maltese cross necklace with Gripoix poured glass components, the 1970s, $2,000-$3,000.
Photo courtesy of Jay B. Siegel

As the decades passed, more and more workshops creating couture jewelry recognized the beauty of Gripoix components and used them in their designs. This includes pieces made for Dior, Balenciaga, Balmain, and Givenchy, among many others. Not all components in jewelry marketed under these brands were made by Gripoix, however. Rhinestones, resin, and other types of glass were used as well.

Christian Dior brooch with green Gripoix glass elements, 1970, $800-$1,000.
Photo courtesy of Jay B. Siegel

Gripoix has even produced top-notch examples of costume jewelry under their own brand over the past few decades and is still in business in Paris. Thierry Gripoix, grandson of Suzanne Gripoix, started his own firm in 2007 called Augustine Paris in honor of his great-grandmother. He passed away in 2022, but the legacy of creating remarkable poured glass jewelry is being carried on in his memory.

As you explore the intricacies of Gripoix, keep in mind that not all glass used in French jewelry is associated with this family. Other firms also skillfully produced handmade glass components during the 20th century. Techniques like lampworking are also confused with poured glass at times. The look is a bit different, however, and advanced collectors learn to recognize the nuances of different artisans and companies who have created various glass components around the globe.

Gripoix branded large brooch with glass elements and faux pearls, early 2000s, $1,000-$1,500.
Photo courtesy of Jay B. Siegel

Learning More Online

There’s nothing like a video to encapsulate jewelry making and all its wonder. I recommend looking up a couple on YouTube related to Gripoix.

The first is a very short video from the House of Gripoix that shows some of the techniques they have long used. The other was produced by Augustine Paris, and it is a lovely glimpse into how the Gripoix family’s tradition of making handmade glass components for use in jewelry fabrication lives on. Seeing how these special pieces are brought to life helps with differentiating them from American costume jewelry made in greater quantities over most of the 20th century.

PAMELA WIGGINS SIEGEL has been buying, selling, and collecting costume jewelry for more than 30 years. She is the author of Warman’s Costume Jewelry and the co-founder of Costume Jewelry Collectors Int’l, an organization dedicated to hosting events and providing educational resources for collectors. Visit her online at Chic Antiques and Costume Jewelry Collectors International.

You may also enjoy: From Cartier to Costume, The Unmistakable Beauty of Fruit Salad Jewelry

 

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On the Road — Hillwood Estate & Museum, Washington, D.C. 

We traveled to Washington, D.C., for a visit and spent an afternoon at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens. Hillwood was the home of Marjorie Merriweather Post (1887–1973), heir to the Post Cereal Co. empire, businesswoman, socialite and philanthropist. Post bought the house and property in 1955. It sits on the edge of Rock Creek Park, which winds its way through Northwest D.C. We went there to see a collection of Dior clothing worn by the late Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco, which was on exhibit in the Adirondack cabin Post had built on the grounds. We stayed the rest of the day for everything else.

Marjorie Post was an avid collector of 18th-century French and pre-Revolutionary Russian decorative arts, and the home is filled with treasures. Some are one-of-a-kind and irreplaceable, such as two Fabergé Imperial eggs that were commissioned as gifts from Czar Nicholas II to his mother, the dazzling wedding crown worn by the Empress Alexandra of Russia and the chandelier in the breakfast room that belonged to Catherine the Great.

While it was incredible to see such exquisite things, the museum-quality French furniture, Beauvais tapestries, Sèvres Blue Celeste and Rose porcelain, pre-Bolshevik Russian silver tea sets, chalices, religious icons and porcelains, Chinese jades, enameled boxes, jewelry by Cartier and Harry Winston, and so much more, made it seem like walking through the categories of the Kovels’ price guide.

During her many parties, Post delighted in showing her collections to guests, encouraging them to pull out drawers in display cabinets that contained information about the objects. Items are still arranged that way—a collector’s home rather than a museum. Curious visitors today can follow along with an audio tour or a tour guide for information. But guests can still open drawers in Post’s dressing room, for example, and view carefully laid corsets and accessories.

The kitchen looks like it is ready to prepare dinner for 24, with vintage appliances out and ready. And the butler’s pantry cupboards are full of “everyday” dishes and glassware, from ruby thumbprint goblets to enameled Czech glass dessert ware.

Outside, groups of lawn chairs are arranged in quiet nooks and overlooks, inviting visitors to linger and enjoy the “Lunar Lawn,” a rose garden, a Japanese-style garden, a French parterre, a putting green and other spaces. Food is available in the Merriweather Café to eat indoors or out. They will even lend you a picnic blanket.

Marjorie Post’s vision was to have Hillwood, its treasures and grounds maintained as a museum after her death. It was full of delights. Learn more at Hillwoodmuseum.org.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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If you are looking to buy one or if you have one you want to sell, be sure to check out Popular Apps & Websites to Buy or Sell Collectibles, Household Goods, and More on Kovels.com and the booklet Kovels’ Collectors’ Guide to Handbags for tips.

So — prepare to have your mind blown by some of these purses and prices! Here are 11 of the most exclusive, high priced (and fun!) handbags that have sold at auction, resale or retail.