Paloma Picasso’s parents, Pablo Picasso and Francoise Gilot, encouraged her to draw from a very young age but at the age of fourteen she stopped drawing altogether, for fear of expectation and as she put it “the weight of her heritage”.
It was in her late teens that she decided her artistic outlet would be through making jewellery, she had always loved going through her mother’s jewellery box and there would be less opportunity for comparison. Paloma Picasso enrolled in a jewellery-making school and then found work making costumes and later costume jewellery in the theatre.
At that time, the early 70s, it was fashionable to dress in clothes from flea markets and it was there she found beautiful costume jewellery too. The most memorable item was a rhinestone covered bikini from the Folies Bergère. She took the bikini home, cut it up, sewed the rhinestones onto a black band and showed it to her friend, designer Yves Saint Laurent. He saw her talent and commissioned her to create accessories and costume jewellery for his Scandal collection.
From working for Yves Saint Laurent she found work in 1971 with the Greek family jewellery company, Zolotas. Successful and using most frequently gold, this collaboration ended in 1980 when Paloma Picasso prepared designs for a table setting for Tiffany & Co. but it was her jewellery designs that got her the job. High jewellery was seen to be diamonds set in gold in the USA at the time so Paloma Picasso was a brave choice for Tiffany & Co. Paloma did not work much with diamonds, rubies and emeralds, but with more accessible stones such as rubellite, sapphire, amethyst and other “semi-precious” gems. However, it was her ability to set these stones as if they were diamonds that created her appeal.
Her striking, iconic red lipstick was the personification of her attitude to colour in her jewellery designs but also her signature and her mask. Paloma Picasso once said that colour is “part of her life” and that “from the stones ideas came, there was really like a dialogue between the stones and me”. The bold use of strong colours in unusual combinations, set in highly polished gold was progressive and not seen before at Tiffany & Co. This, coupled with the size of the stones she liked to use, made for very modern pieces. Paloma Picasso said,
“I was absolutely fascinated by the extraordinary vibrant gemstones nature can produce. My heart pushed me to go with the brightest of all.”
Over the years she designed for Tiffany & Co the emphasis moved from large, bright and colourful stones to metal work. She discovered that the letter x was a symbol for a kiss in England and she used the double meaning it had, both romantic and modern, in her Graffiti collection. Graffiti was seen as vandalism, not art, so Paloma Picasso’s designs changed public opinion.
“In the ’70s, people were starting to tag subways and walls, which had everyone outraged. I wanted to look at graffiti differently and try to make something positive out of it.”
She created the Scribble range, using her own handwriting, with the words Kiss, Love and Oui and said “My purpose in life is to make everything more beautiful”.
Paloma Picasso has a house in Marrakesh and it was there that she was inspired by the olive trees in her garden to create the Olive Leaf collection. The gold necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings are made up of strong simple lines and as Tiffany & Co describe it “a tribute to the olive tree as a symbol of peace, hope and harmony”.
Other well-known designs by Paloma Picasso include the Loving Heart design which combines strong lines with flowing shapes as Paloma Picasso sees jewellery as a symbol of unspoken emotion. Her Studio collection is described by Tiffany & Co as the embodiment of all “the energy, heat and colour of the disco era. From geometric pendants to stacking rings, these designs are full of dimension and liveliness”. Her Groove collection created for both men and women, includes rings, cuffs, pendants and cuff links and are inspired by a set of bands that Paloma made for her own wedding. It has eight grooves, and the number eight represents infinity which the designer felt was a good omen for a marriage.
After over 35 years with Tiffany & Co, Paloma Picasso, who felt that jewellery is “an extension of our personality and who we are, so it has to be friendly to us” also said “The most rewarding design is the one that is yet to come.”
