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wendyhewson1
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Recently I have acquired several of these gorgeous 1970s/80s pieces for my Etsy shop, and I am so enamoured with them that I thought I would talk a bit about them in here, and show you all what I have acquired…
This is the smaller sized Acorn & Oak leaves design – this one is £105 and is heavy gold-plated metal, measuring 6.7cms wide when done up…
I love Mimi Di Niscemi’s beautiful creations – she had some very bold and confidant ideas, and sometimes extremely intricate, like these Acorn & Oak Leaves 2-piece buckles.
More Oak Leaves and Acorns, this time the larger version here, priced at £110…
She specialised in flora and fauna (lots and lots of fauna !!) She just had the most fun with her animal and insect designs. Sadly the only animal I have had was the Hippo, but he was lovely:-
Here he is, in all his glory !! I never found out if he was supposed to be a double design or just the one – he had a hook so he could be use on his own. He sold for the princely sum of £50.
Here is a short but interesting history of the New York based company Mimi di N Inc. which lasted for thirty-five years from being incorporated in May 1962 up until she ceased trading in January 1997. Named after its founder – the famous jewellery designer Madame Mimi di Niscemi (aka Princess Mimi di Niscemi) – the company operated out of 15 West 38th Street, New York City in the state of New York.
PRINCESS MIMI…
Her full name was Maria ‘Mimi’ Valguarnera and she was born on 29 November 1931, in Palermo Italy, into a Sicilian aristocratic family, and was a Princess in her own right. Her father was Corrado, Prince of Niscemi and Castelnuovo, and Duke of Arenella, so she certainly had social connections to the best families in Europe.
Her parents were also themselves jewellery designers, and her cousin was the famous and aristocratic Fulco di Verdura, who was friends with Coco Chanel amongst others.
Mimi decided to emigrate to the US in order to study at the Philadelphia School of Industrial Arts. While there, she worked at both Schiaparelli and Arnold Scaasi jewellery houses. Also, Mimi collaborated with Robert De Mario in 1959. Creating jewellery for “Brania” in the 1960’s, she marked these pieces with Brania and Mimi di N.
Interesting and abstract multiple cockle shell design 2-piece dress buckle, priced at £120…
Her long time in honing and accumulating experience in the very best jewellery houses, enabled her to launch her very own jewellery business in New York. Her fabulous designs, which consisted mostly of her fun whimsical belt buckles, large chunky and eye-catching necklaces, and exquisite brooches and earrings, are dramatic, bold and elegant. She marked her jewellery pieces with “Mimi Di N”, “Mimi DiN”, “Mimi Di N Design”, or “Mimi DiN Design”. However, the first years, she didn’t label her jewellery at all. It is to be noted that her fantastic belt and dress buckles are almost always marked with her signature, and very often include the year of production as well.
Gorgeous unusual silvery-gilt Triple Mussel Shell design 2-piece dress buckle, priced at £105…
Her beautiful jewellery designs regularly appeared in Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar in the 1960s and 70s. It became a bit of a cult brand, often mentioned in museums, top-design catalogues and reference books, and was often the choice of the most wealthy and aristocratic women, including Jacqueline Kennedy and the Duchess of Windsor – both noted for their jewellery choices.
MARRIAGE
She met and married Prince Alexander Romanov in 1971. He was the youngest son of Prince Nikita Alexandrovitch and his wife Countess Mariya Ilarianovna Vorontzova-Daschkovaa. Prince Alexander was also the great nephew of the last Russian Emperor, Nicholas II.
They were married in a civil ceremony, and in a religious ceremony on 18 July 1971 in Cannes. The couple lived in both New York City and London.
More sea-shells, this time pretty little cockle shells on a much smaller scale – this is £105 too…
I love her beautiful and whimsical belt and two-piece dress buckles – you can wear these easily by threading them onto a narrow belt, and wear it with the real buckle at the back and the Mimi Di N. buckle at the front, like this:-
You must be able to get the belt buckle under the bars of the Mimi buckle though, so a narrower belt with a flat buckle is to recommended. It is also to be noted that most of these pretty buckles can also be worn as a pendant by threading a chain through the loop of the one side.
Also you can of course, make a matching self-covered belt for that dress you have been creating, with one of these belt buckles incorporated into the design. Otherwise thread a scarf through the loops and wear it around your jeans waistband…
Of course there are many other designs that I haven’t acquired as yet for my Etsy shop – here are some of her other wee beastie creations garnered from every corner of the Google image search:-
Of course she didn’t just create animal designs – she also used fish and sea-shells to great effect as we have already seen, but here are some others:-
And also beautiful plant designs as well, especially the Scottish Thistle…
Of course, she didn’t just design belt buckles – she also created the most fabulous necklaces, bracelets, earrings and brooches, many of which were used in designer runway shows and for many magazine shoots. I love this gorgeous necklace:
Huge circular ornamental gold-plated clasp with multiple strands of red Lucite Melon beads – eye-catching necklace designed for the Brania label and priced at Can.$295 dollars (£157)…
this clear Lucite necklace was part of a magazine advertising campaign back in the 70s:
I hope you’ve enjoyed this little look at the inimitable Mimi Di Niscemi’s work, and her amazing belt buckles…
Please do come and have a look over my Etsy shop – link in the side bar———->>>>>