Jewellery, Watches, Silver and Objects of Vertu

An 18ct gold, cultured pearl and diamond necklace by Charles de Temple, 1985, the cultured bouton pearls spaced by flattened gold and diamond pavé set pearl links, London hallmark, leather maker’s pouch, length 43.5cm. £3,000-£4,000

Charles de Temple (1929 - 2019)
Born in America in 1929, Charles de Temple was the son of the celebrated American film actor, Tom Mix. With no formal artistic training, Charles was self taught, working first as a sculptor in America before deciding to concentrate on jewellery design. He moved to England in 1957, soon becoming part of the swinging London scene.

In post-war Britain, the Modernist jewellery movement took longer to develop than the Modernist art movement, not helped by a heavy tax on luxury goods and limited access to raw materials which meant that production was still focused on traditional pieces for the export market. It was, therefore, not until the early 1960s that a prominent British Modernist style started to emerge from the jewellery studios of London, led by designers such as Andrew Grima, Charles de Temple, John Donald and David Thomas, with their pioneering methods of melting and transforming gold and other precious metals into abstract forms, which embraced both shape and texture.

Charles de Temple rose to fame after designing several pieces that featured in the 1965 James Bond movie, Goldfinger, including the actual gold finger used in the film.