Aldo Cipullo (American, b. Italy, 1942–1984), designer, Cartier (French, est. 1847), manufacturer, Juste un Clou Pin, 1971, gold

Audio Description

Aldo Cipullo was an American jeweler who was born in Italy and lived from 1942–1984. He designed this pin in 1971 for Cartier, a French jewelry house that was established in 1847.

Made of polished gold, this pin looks like a nail.

Label Copy

Aldo Cipullo was an American jeweler who was born in Italy and lived from 1942–1984. He designed this pin in 1971 for Cartier, a French jewelry house that was established in 1847.

Designing for Cartier from 1969 to 1974, Aldo Cipullo created many highly profitable and somewhat playful collections for the firm. His first design was the Love bracelet. Accompanied by a small screwdriver, a couple was meant to throw away the tool and wear the matching bracelets forever once they were fastened around the wrist.

Creating one major collection a year for Cartier, Cipullo became fascinated by ordinary bolts, nuts, and screws—the functional elements of everyday life. Such basic components became implicit features of the clean, smooth lines of Cipullo’s modern designs. First created in 1971, this pin is part of his Juste un Clou (Just a Nail) line that included a bent ‘nail’ that wrapped around the wrist. Attuned to the fact that more and more men were wearing jewelry, Cipullo created many such unisex pieces. Extremely popular, the Juste un Clou collection was re-released in 2012 by Cartier.

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