Marcus & Co.

The journey of Marcus & Co. starts with Herman Marcus, who led the firm with his sons in the turn of the century. Born in Germany, Herman Marcus trained in Dresden before moving to New York in the 1950s. He was savvy with European trends and well known for his connoisseurship. He worked with Charles Tiffany before joining Marcus & Co., established by his son William Marcus . His love for classic literature, paintings and engraved gems were often inspirations for his jewelry designs. The firm soon became one of the most important producers of fine Art Nouveau jewellery in America.

During the Art Deco era, jewels were lavish, and the American market welcomed colours mainly in the form of sapphires, rubies and emeralds. Marcus & Co. also branched out to London, Paris and Palm beach to take advantage of the new international movements in the 1920s. Exotic motifs seen from French jewels became a strong source of inspiration, as jewelry designs continued to broaden their themes to sculpture, architecture, textiles, and more. Oriental influences including Chinese, Indian, Persian and Japanese art were very popular during this era as seen from this example. Jewels by Marcus & Co. are acquired by museums such as Metropolitan Museum of Art and Victoria & Albert Museum.

In 2013, a number of important jewels from Marcus & Co. were auctioned in New York including this bracelet from the property of a distinguished private collector. With the low estimate at 75,000 USD, it was sold for 118,750 USD – a double-clip brooch set with similar carved stones with a low estimate of 30,000 USD sold for 78,125 USD.

珠寶名家Marcus & Co. 的故事，緣起自赫爾曼・馬庫斯（Herman Marcus）。赫爾曼・馬庫斯生於德國，曾於德雷斯頓習學，1950年代遷往紐約。他對歐洲的流行風尚了解獨到，並以超卓的鑑賞眼光為人所熟知。他曾為查爾斯・蒂芙尼工作，在兒子威廉・馬庫斯（William Marcus）創立Marcus & Co. 品牌後，父子一同經營家業。赫爾曼對古典文學、畫作及刻面寶石情有獨鍾，常常從中汲取設計靈感。不久以後，Marcus & Co. 便躍身為美國新藝術風格首飾的重要珠寶商之一。

在裝飾藝術運動年間，寶石乃十分奢侈的材料，美國珠寶市場則主要偏好藍寶石、紅寶石及祖母綠等鮮豔寶石。承接1920年代多場嶄新國際運動的盛勢，Marcus & Co. 分別進駐倫敦、巴黎及棕櫚灘。隨著珠寶的設計主題日益擴展，涵蓋雕塑、建築、紡織等多個範疇，法國珠寶那些充滿異國情調的圖案成為重要的靈感泉源。從本品可見，中國、印度、波斯和日本等東方藝術亦是當時珠寶設計的靈感來源。Marcus & Co. 的作品現已獲大都會藝術博物館及維多利亞與艾爾伯特博物館收藏。

2013年，一批 Marcus & Co. 珠寶在紐約蘇富比上拍， 包括這條出自知名私人收藏的手鏈。它的拍賣前低估價為75,000 美元，最終以118,750美元成交。此外，一枚鑲同款刻面寶石的別針以78,125美元成交，遠超30,000美元的拍賣前低估價。