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Style, fashion and panache characterize the jewelry of Mary Kruming Douglas, from her first entrance into the world of jewelry at Tiffany & Co. to eventually creating her own designs.Mary Kruming Douglas’ rise from obscurity to prominence was due in large part to the perceptiveness of two important figures in the world of jewelry and fashion. In 1956, after the death of the her first husband, a friend introduced her to Walter Hoving, then president of Tiffany & Co. and a man who knew talent when he saw it, who hired her immediately. Working at first with Tish Baldridge, publicity director for the firm, her natural gift for design was recognize and, not long afterwards, she began creating her own style of jewelry. In her own words, “All my life I’d been creative, but when I began designing jewelry, all that creativity became channeled.” A noted example from this period is a set of gold plume ear clips and clip brooch, made with wires, which are still a classic.In 1959, after a two-and-a-half year tenure at Tiffany & Co., Douglas was persuaded by Diana Vreeland, the arbiter of fashion and style, to work for “Harper’s Bazaar” as a fashion editor. Vreeland wanted someone with taste, and, although Douglas lacked any prior experience in this field, it was a simple task for this imaginative and creative mind to adapt her talents to the fashion industry. However, her weekends were still spent at the jewelry work bench which, to her always signified creativity and serenity. Her stint at the magazine lasted only a year at which she returned to designing jewelry, this time for Black, Starr & Gorham. While there, she received three Diamond International Awards, one of which was for a design of a whimsical whale spouting diamonds.1961 was a busy tear for Mary Kruming Douglas and one that sealed her presence in the world of jewelry design. It was the year she began creating her own line of jewelry, signing it with her name from her previous marriage, Mary Kruming. This collection was shown at a special exhibition at Chez Ninon in New York City. That same year she assisted Graham Hughes with the exhibition, “Modern Jewelry, An International Survey,” held at Goldsmith’s Hall in London. Her part in helping with the show included a visit to Clarence House to confer with the Queen Mother about the pieces she would lend. After selecting a diamond tiara and the diamond and emerald badge and star of the Order of the Thistle, she nonchalantly placed them in a paper parcel and hopped into a cab to Goldsmith’s Hall. A number of her specially designed pieces were also included in the exhibition and illustrated in the catalogue. Wanting to continue her education in jewelry design, she decided to take some time off and really learn the fundamentals of jewelry craftsmanship. With that intention, she embarked later that year on a trip to Europe, living first in Florence and, then, in Paris where she spent two years studying with the head of the art department of the Chambre Syndicale, Pierre La Roche.When Mrs. Douglas returned from Europe, Vreeland, who had moved to “Vogue”, enticed her back to the fashion world as a senior editor. Working with photographers in New York City and on location, she quickly gained a reputation for her inventive photographs. Pictures from Australia included models in bathing suits hand-in-paw with kangaroos…a feat that so impressed the Prime Minister that he wrote to “Vogue” complimenting Douglas on “doing an ambassador’s job!” Other assignments took her to the North Pole where her plane landed on an ice floe which, as they took off, broke into pieces.Back to relative safety in New York City, by 1966 her jewelry was featured in a special exhibit at the Galleria D’Arte Robinson in Naples, Florida. That same year, she married Gordon Douglas Jr., whom she met while in Europe. In 1970, she opened the first Bulgari salon in New York at the Hotel Pierre, remaining as president until 1972, when she and her husband moved to Montecito, California. Mary Kruming Douglas’ commissioned designs were one-of-a-kind creations. She would personally visit each client in the intimacy of their own homes, traveling around the globe to get to know their individual personalities. “I really can’t design for anyone unless I see them in their own familiar surroundings.” Her jewelry is meant to complement the personality of the person who wears it. “Design, for me, is more than the creation of a beautiful jewel – it is an expression of individuality and a highly personal form of art.”Douglas would sketch each piece before making a wax or clay model that would be submitted to the client. Each piece was custom made in a New York workshop where this elegant, versatile designer often worked at the bench alongside the craftsmen. Her jewelry is characterized by the use of yellow god, sometimes brushed and textured. She loves deep hued gemstones such as blue sapphires, emeralds and coral, but the romance of diamonds always lures her back. She uses strange cuts of jewels and integrates unusual or exotic stones into the overall design.Douglas’ sculpting inclinations prompted ventured into other creative domains. She designed a limited number of perfume bottles crafter out of black onyx and rose-quartz. The stoppers were carved flowers that opened to reveal a ballet dancer, encrusted with diamonds. She also designed a series of animals that were carved from bloodstones by artisans in Idar-Oberstein, Germany.She has been honored by one-woman exhibitions in Naples, Palm Beach, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Dallas and New York City. In 1979, she designed a special collection for the opening of the Gucci Galleria in New York City. In 1995, her paintings were featured in a special show in Charleston, South Carolina.Mary Kruming Douglas passed away in 2015, but her spirit lives on through her designs. Her jewels are meant to be worn, enjoyed and loved, not locked in a vault waiting for a once-a-year event. Hers is a complete art form- contemporary treasures of jewels representing the continuing evolution of exotic adornment.
A KUNZITE, DIAMOND AND GOLD NECKLACE, BY MARY KRUMING DOUGLAS
Details
A KUNZITE, DIAMOND AND GOLD NECKLACE, BY MARY KRUMING DOUGLAS
Set with a line of graduated rectangular-cut kunzites, suspended from a circular-cut golden beryl and textured gold undulating band, entwined by ribbons of circular-cut diamonds, accented by polished gold claw motifs, 16 ins., mounted in platinum and 22k gold
With maker's mark for Mary Kruming Douglas
Set with a line of graduated rectangular-cut kunzites, suspended from a circular-cut golden beryl and textured gold undulating band, entwined by ribbons of circular-cut diamonds, accented by polished gold claw motifs, 16 ins., mounted in platinum and 22k gold
With maker's mark for Mary Kruming Douglas