VAN CLEEF & ARPELS Evening case in 18K (750) black enameled gold, the lid decorated with a floral composition carved on lapis lazuli, with moonstone flowers, the petals in onyx, studded with cabochon sapphires on a mother-of-pearl background, the frame highlighted with rose-cut diamonds; the interior contains a beveled mirror, two compartments and a tube of lipstick; the push-button is adorned with calibrated sapphires. Signed and numbered, hallmark Strass Allard Meyer. French work of the years 1925. Dimensions: 8 x 4.3 x 1 cm approximately. - Gross weight : 162,3 g (small chips in the enamel) The evening set presented here was made in the Strauss Allard Meyer (SAM) workshop, which played a leading role in the production of precious objects in the 1920s. Jean-Gustave Maurice Allard represents the artist of this trio, an excellent draughtsman, he chose a painter's palette for his hallmark. After having been trained as a jeweler in London, he opened his workshop in Paris in 1909 and joined forces with Emile Meyer, who took care of the commercial aspects. The most famous houses in Paris ordered all kinds of precious objects from him. 1919 saw the arrival of the third member of this trio, Raphaël Strauss, a businessman. Lacloche, Van Cleef & Arpels or Janesich, call upon "SAM" to concentrate in tiny accessories the new attributes of the decorated woman of the Roaring Twenties. The style of this workshop oscillates between a certain iconographic exuberance composed of flowers and landscapes and a typically Art Deco rigor where geometric systems and the idea of purity prevail. One or the other style is supported by technical excellence and perfect mastery of manufacturing. The set we propose, made for Van Cleef & Arpels, is a perfect example of the SAM style, freed from the shackles, where the "classic" contrasts of white and black are jostled by the lapis lazuli, a perfectly balanced eccentricity.