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Ilias Lalaounis (1920-2013) !8k gold on Tigers Eye Easter Egg. Great piece<br>tested 18k gold on cats eye. Unmarked Custom made one of a kind piece created by<br>a master and being offered at a fraction of it's original cost. I also have<br>another listed. No issues.<br><br><br>Ilias Lalaounis<br>From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia<br>Jump to navigationJump to search<br>Ilias Lalaounis<br>LH OMRI<br>Ilias Lalaounis in 1920.jpg<br>Ilias Lalaounis in 1990<br>Born 4 October 1920<br>Athens, Greece<br>Died 30 December 2013<br>Athens, Greece<br>Nationality Greek<br>Alma mater University of Athens<br>Occupation Jeweler<br>Spouse(s) Lila Altitzoglou<br>Children 4 daughters<br>Ilias Lalaounis (4 October 1920 − 30 December 2013) was a pioneer of Greek<br>jewelry and an internationally renowned goldsmith.[1] He is especially known for<br>his collections inspired by Greek history.[2] In 1990 he became the only jeweler<br>ever to be inducted into the Académie des Beaux-Arts.[3][4]<br><br><br>Contents<br>1 Early life<br>2 Career<br>2.1 1969-1970s<br>2.2 1980s–1990s<br>3 Museum<br>4 Personal life<br>5 Honors and awards<br>6 References<br>Early life<br>Ilias Lalaounis was born on October 4, 1920 in Athens, Greece.[3][4] He was a<br>fourth generation jeweler whose family originated from Delphi.[4] He graduated<br>from the University of Athens, where he studied Political Science and the<br>Law.[3][4]<br><br>Career<br><br>Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum.<br>Lalaounis started his career working for the jewelry business of his uncle,<br>Xenophon Zolotas.[4] In 1940 he took over the administration of the firm, which<br>he managed and designed all jewelry for until 1968.[3] He founded the Greek<br>Jewelers' Association and exhibited his first collection, the Archaeological<br>Collection, at the Thessaloniki International Fair in 1957. It was inspired by<br>Classical, Hellenistic and Minoan Mycenaean art. In 1969 he started his own<br>firm, Greek Gold - Ilias Lalaounis S.A..[4]<br><br>1969-1970s<br>Lalaounis provoked a sensation with his collection Blow Up (1970), draping the<br>human body in gold jewelry inspired by Minoan civilization.[5] The following<br>year he organized an international exhibition of jewelry in Athens, joined by<br>Van Cleef, Bulgari, Rene Kern and Harry Winston. In 1976, he had one of his most<br>important commissions which would prove to be one of the most inspiring for his<br>portfolio. Empress Farah of Iran commissioned Lalaounis to create a collection<br>of jewelry and objects inspired by Persian art, which went on display at the<br>Imperial Palace in Tehran.[6]<br><br>Between 1970 and 1978 Ilias Lalaounis opened stores in most European countries.<br>He opened his first international store in Paris at 364 rue Saint-Honoré, near<br>Place Vendôme and produced a short film explaining the sources of inspiration<br>for the jewels on display. Since then, he regularly produced short films to<br>illustrate his collections, such as: Aube of Art, Byzantine Arcs in Gold,<br>Choreography, The Shield of Achilles, Ilion - The Treasure of Troy, Art and<br>Gold, The Common Roots of the Creator Man, Treasures of the Holy Land.[3] In<br>1979, Lalaounis opened a store in New York on the corner of Fifth Avenue and<br>57th Street. A year later, the Smithsonian Institution invited him to give a<br>lecture on his art and to exhibit his collection The Achilles Shield at the<br>National Museum of American History.<br><br>1980s–1990s<br>Ilias Lalaounis continued to create innovative collections and expand the brand<br>to international markets during the 1980s. On the inauguration of the Lalaounis<br>store in Tokyo, he created a jewelry collection inspired by Japanese art. The<br>same year, he opened a store in Hong Kong where he presented a collection of<br>jewels inspired by the drawings of the Greek geometric period, very similar to<br>the geometric designs of Chinese art. A second store was opened in Hong Kong in<br>1982.[3] Lalaounis exhibited his Helen of Troy collection at the Penn Museum in<br>Philadelphia as well as in Houston, Texas, where he was made an honorary citizen<br>by the mayor.<br><br>In 1984, he published Metamorphoses, a book in which he presented nineteen of<br>his collections by analyzing his philosophy on the nature and function of<br>jewelry. The jewel, for Ilias Lalaounis, is not a simple decorative object,<br>rather it carries a message, is an expression of inner life, a link with the<br>distant past, a symbol and a memory.[3] He received the Thorlet Award (Prix<br>Thorlet) for the book from the Académie des Beaux-Arts. Subsequently, a<br>retrospective exhibition of his creations was presented in the Sorbonne Chapel.<br>For his contribution to the arts, Lalaounis was made Knight of the Order of Arts<br>and Letters (Chevalier de l'ordre des Arts et Lettres) by the French government<br>and Commander of the Order of Academic Palms (Commandeur des Palmes<br>Académiques). He was also elected as a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts of<br>the Institut de France, the only jeweler ever to be inducted.[3][7] The<br>Academicians' swords (épées d'Académiciens), given to members on their<br>induction, were originally designed by Salvador Dali, and when Dali became too<br>frail to continue, he named his close friend Ilias Lalaounis to continue his<br>work.<br><br>In November 1987, Lalaounis was invited by Teddy Kollek, Mayor of Jerusalem, to<br>present his collection Treasures of the Holy Land, in an exhibition specially<br>organized by the Israel Museum and subsequently shown in New York, London and<br>Paris. The following year he presented Arabesques, a collection of gold and<br>silver creations set with precious and semi-precious stones. The Minister of<br>Foreign Affairs of Turkey invited him to exhibit Arabesques, as well as another<br>complementary collection, Soleiman the Magnificent, at the Islamic Art Museum of<br>Istanbul.[8] He launched Ameridians in New York, a collection inspired by the<br>art of North American Indians and in 1991, opened his store on Madison Avenue in<br>New York, where he presented his collection inspired by Celtic art.<br><br>Museum<br>In 1994, he founded the Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum, located under the<br>Acropolis, in the center of Athens. The permanent exhibition displays jewelry<br>and micro-sculptures from forty-five collections, designed by Lalaounis in the<br>period 1940-1992.[9] Some special commissions are also kept on permanent<br>display, such as the Olympic torch, designed by Ilias Lalaounis, used to start<br>the Olympic torch rally before every Olympic Games.
