Burle Marx Forma Livre' Bracelet

Jewelry artist Haroldo Burle Marx (a distant relative of philosopher Karl Marx!), whose family emigrated from Germany to Brazil in 1895, became one of the country's most renowned designers. In 1981, he formed an exclusive partnership with Alta Leath, wife the the late Texas Congressman Marvin Leath. Her high-end boutique, the ALTOMAR Collection, located at the time in the lobby of the Watergate Hotel, became the only jewelry boutique in the world to primarily feature Burle Marx's work and the sole place outside of Brazil where one could purchase his one-of-a-kind pieces. Inspired by ancient cultures, his pieces have a timeless sculptural elegance.

This bracelet is a connection of stylized 'U' shapes, both embossed and debossed, and is designed with high polish, Florentine, and sandblasted finishes, all creating a free-form work of art to wrap your wrist. A unique and highly collectible adornment. Hand fabricated in 18K gold, it measures 8 inches.

A Google search garnered the following:

Haroldo Burle Marx was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1911 to one of Brazil's richest and most distinguished families. Haroldo's grandfather was a cousin of Karl Marx. By 1945 he was designing jewelry, and in 1954 devoted himself full time to the gemstones that always fascinated him. He was educated at Colegio Rezende; Pitman’s College in London; Rackow’s Hochhandelschule in Berlin, and Rio de Janeiro National Law Faculty. His attraction to Brazil’s precious gems led him to study gemology and lapidary for four years in Idar-Oberstein, Germany where he earned a degree in gemology. He both spoke and wrote six languages fluently. Burle Marx is without question one the greatest jewelry designers that ever lived. His customer list looks much like a social registry. Cicely Tyson, Madame Ferragamo, Placido Domingo, Natalie Wood, The Shah of Iran, Queen Margrethe of Denmark, and the Empress of Japan were just a few of his customers. In 1989 over half a million dollars worth of Burle Marx jewels were on display at The Houston Museum of Natural Science for a period of two years. Burle Marx was featured in publications like Connoisseur Magazine, Town and Country, Vogue, U.S. News & World Report, and The New York Times, and many others. The handcrafted jewels of Haroldo Burle Marx are characterized by a timeless quality that reflects the era of Cleopatra and the concepts of tomorrow, yet they complement and enhance the fashions of today. Since long before they became fashionable Burle Marx was using beautiful, colored gemstones from Brazil, later accented with diamonds, as a mainstay of his designs. When foreign dignitaries visited Brazil, Burle Marx was commissioned by the Brazilian Government to make them a gift. He will without a doubt go down as one of the greatest jewelry designers to have ever lived. If you come across a piece of jewelry that's stamped "Burle Marx", it was made by Haroldo Burle Marx.