Spotlight on: Paul Flato

Paul Flato’s success and designation as the “First Jeweler to the Celebrities” is most likely due to two factors; his talent for creating beautiful, whimsical pieces and his first store was at the corner of 57th and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. It was the location where Tiffany & Co.  would later open their flagship store across the street.

Paul Edmund Flato was born at the turn of the 20th century in Texas to a successful cattle rancher and his German immigrant wife. The town he grew up in was founded by his German great grandparents who purchased the land from Mexico. It is said that he became interested in jewelry early on by watching the nomadic Gypsies selling their silver bangles and dangles.

Paul attended the University of Texas in Austin. Afterwards, he left to go to New York with the intention of attending medical school. Due to his father’s financial woes at the time, he became a watch salesman instead. Later, he opened his upstairs shop at One East 57th Street.

It was the early 1920s, and it didn’t take long for Paul to become a favorite to the celebrities of the time. He employed a couple of talented jewelry designers that would later become very noteworthy in the field. Between then and 1940, he fashioned pieces for celebrities that only someone living under a rock would not recognize. Big-name stars like Mae West, Greta Garbo, Kathryn Hepburn and others wore his jewelry on the Silver Screen.

His iconic pieces include an apple blossom necklace for opera singer Lily Pons. He created a diamond and ruby corset bracelet inspired by the undergarment that Mae West wore. He began a trend of using diamonds to create initials on black enamel.

After his death, Paul Flato’s jewelry began to fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction.