Marlene Dietrich’s Jarretière cuff bracelet by Van Cleef & Arpels circa 1937

Considered a masterpiece of 1930s design, the bracelet was first commissioned by Marlene Dietrich at the suggestion of Erich Maria Remarque, a close friend and companion at the time.  Remarque proposed that she combine all her bits of jewelry to create one fabulous piece.  Diamond earrings, a diamond necklace, a matching ruby bracelet and earrings, and several other pieces were taken apart and reconstructed into the iconic bracelet.  As a personal friend of Dietrich’s and designer of the bracelet, Louis Arpels made certain that the final product would not disappoint.

Composed of a large loop decorated with concentric rows of cushion-shaped rubies, surrounded by baguette and round diamonds, the bracelet became one of Louis Arpels most enduring creations.  Dietrich fondly made the bracelet a part of her life, appearing in photographs wearing the jewel and famosly wearing it in Alfred Hitchcock’s Stage Fright in 1950.

As the times and tastes changed, so too did Dietrich’s lifestyle.  The famed femme fatale was no longer striking out on the town in slinky sequined gowns and diamond jewels.  That period of her life had passed and, moreover, her economic circumstances ultimately compelled her to sell her most valuable of assets:  her jewelry.

In 1987, the actress, then 86 years old, sold eight items at Christie’s because she needed the money more so than jewelry she no longer wore.  The total from the sale of those items was $81,500.  This was not the first time Dietrich’s jewelry came to her financial rescue, however.

In 1939, Dietrich, her husband Rudolph Sieber and their daughter Maria were just about to board the Normandie to sail back to Paris when Internal Revenue Service agents presented the actress, who’d just received American citizenship, with a delinquent tax bill of $248,000 for earnings she made outside the U.S.  The IRS agents then seized and rummaged through her 34 pieces of luggage, scooping up a haul of diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds valued anywhere between $100,000 to $400,000.  After much arguing between the agents and her lawyer, Dietrich and her family were finally allowed to board the ship and her jewels were placed in escrow to guarantee the taxes upon her return.

On May 6th, 1992, the legendary actress and singer passed away in Paris at the age of 90.  Once considered one of the most distinguished jewelry collectors to date, Dietrich’s spectacular collection had dwindled down to a single jewel.  In sorting through her papers and possessions after her death, Dietrich’s grandson Peter Riva found that the Van Cleef & Arpels masterpiece was the only piece of jewelry she kept, through good times and bad.

Later that year, this bracelet was sold for a staggering $990,000 by Sotheby’s New York as part of her estate.  The bracelet now belongs to an anonymous private collection.

Courtesy of  jewelsdujour