AUGUSTIN JULIA PLANA 1960 Swiss Cocktail Ring In 18Kt Lapis

Cocktail ring designed by Augustin Julia Plana (1934-1979) for Simon Schlegel. This is a very rare and unusual cocktail ring, created in the city of Bern Switzerland by the artist jeweler Augustin Julia-Plana, for Simon Schlegel, back in the late 1960. The ring has been crafted in solid yellow gold of 18 karats with highly textured finish. The design was made up as a free arrangement of eight oval elements, which are mounted with natural Afghani blue lapis lazuli. This cocktail ring show the typical early artistic composition from this designer.   Augustin Julia-Plana   Augustin Julia-Plana was born in Mataro, near Barcelona, in 1934. In his youth, he was a talented track and field athlete, and in 1954 was the Spanish 4 x 400m relay champion. After military service, he attended art school and then decided to go abroad to pursue his career. In 1963 he joined the Swiss jewelers Simon Schlegel, in Bern, before formally partnering with Schlegel in 1968 as Schlegel Plana. Julia-Plana and Schlegel enjoyed a successful partnership together, designing and producing jewels for several established European firms, amongst them the French firm of Aldebert, and the Dutch firm of Bonebakker, as well as for watch firms such as Clerc and Yves Saint Blaise. They also counted fashionable women of high society amongst their clients, with Princess Soraya of Iran reportedly being a patron. Julia-Plana was known for using unusual materials in his designs, such as wood, meteorite, m