French 18ct Gold & Diamond Knot Earrings By Fred

Fred Samuel was born in 1908 to French parents who had emigrated to Argentina. Fred moved to France aged 16 to study jewellery. He opened his boutique on the rue Royal in Paris.

Immersed in the artistic melting pot of 1930s Paris, he was socialising with artists, writers and musicians in an environment rich with ideas. He said, “My creations are inspired by life, light, movement, energy.”

At the outbreak of War he joined the Foreign Legion and when he returned to the business he was forced by the General Commissariat for Jewish Affairs to place the yellow Star of David in his shop window and remove his surname, Samuel, from all signage. As the situation deteriorated he left Paris for the Free Zone in 1942 but was arrested and it would be almost three years before he would return to Paris.

Now known simply as ‘Fred’, the business concentrated on producing their signature bold, colourful jewellery and accessories and built a loyal clientele that included Marlene Dietrich and Barbara Hutton.

When the firm established a branch in Monte Carlo in 1976, Princess Grace and her daughter Caroline attended the opening and Fred became an official supplier to the Royal House of Monaco.

In the 1980s a branch was opened in New York and in 1990 a specially created Fred necklace became one of the most famous pieces of jewellery in movie history. When Richard Gere presented Julia Roberts with a blue velvet box in the now famous scene from the film Pretty Woman, it contained a stunning and specially commissioned rubyOne of the most valuable gemstones on earth. From the corundum family, the red variety being ruby and the blue, sapphire. With the exception of the diamond, corundum is the hardest of the gemstones on the Mohs scale scoring a 9. and diamondA precious, lustrous gemstone made of highly compressed carbon. Diamonds are one of the hardest materials known to mankind. Colours of diamonds range from colourless, yellow, orange and brown to almost black. Natural coloured (or ‘fancy’) diamonds can be extremely rare. The cut, colour, clarity and carat weight of a diamond are the criteria jewellers use… Fred necklace.

These 18ct75% pure gold (or 750 parts pure gold and 250 parts other metals) gold and diamond earrings by Fred are a wonderful timeless design and can be worn day and night. They have secure post and clip fittings.