Uncle Sam clip

During the Second World War, the New York branch of Van Cleef & Arpels initiated a series of patriotic jewels. In December 1942, an advertisement with a singular iconography appeared in the American edition of Vogue, a year after the United States entered the war on the side of the Allies and the beginning of the Pacific War. In the form of a satirical ballet, this advertisement presents “six original clips […] in gold […] set with diamonds and other precious stones” that unfold on a stage reminiscent of a pier. In the background is a starry sky with curtainlike clouds. In the foreground, a Cantinière clip: the figure is equipped with a drum and a rifle, and holds a bouquet of flowers in her right hand. To the left, an Uncle Sam clip, in sapphires, rubies, and diamonds, personifies the United States. Two Bird clips, in gold, moonstone, rubies, sapphires, and brilliants, overhang this composition. They can be interpreted as a representation of divebombing airplanes, plunging vertically towards the ground, or as a symbol of freedom. At the center of this “Opera Ballet,” two ballerinas, also wearing the Allied colors, sketch arabesque variations amidst this scene of support and homage to the troops.