Corletto - Not an antique but certainly an enigma

[mariok54]

Hi, it's me again ... and hoping that your combined knowledge might come up with something. I bought a watch a few years back at auction, as a present. I went for it because it was a Longines timepiece. However, after winning it, and closer inspection, I came across the name Corletto on the back cover. I've researched Corletto and come across a few Blackamoors, and one other watch on Ebay ... but can find out virtually nothing about Corletto other than the basics (a little of his history, death and so on). What amazes me is why is there so little out there about a designer who was considered to be at the top of his profession back in the 60s. Or was he, is it possibly just hype?

[waywardangler]

It would be nice to have an image.

[mariok54]

Hi Wayward ... Thanks for the nice comments about the painting... I absolutely love that image, even more than Raphael's.

I've got some pics of the watch which I  took for Insurance purposes, although over here no-one seems to have heard of Corletto ...     I know that he went to the States and made his reputation over there ..

[waywardangler]

I looked online for Corletto and there are images of similar watches but no info on Corletto which is odd.  I would assume if he was a well known designer in Italy, some info about the firm or designer would be out there.  Maybe it is just buried deeper online?

[mariok54]

Hi Wayward ... Well and truly buried by the looks of it. There is virtually nothing to be found in Italy for Oreste Corletto, it mainly seems to be in the States ... but even that is very thin. Thanks for trying.

[waywardangler]

This was on an Ebay page..."In addition, I found this information:     Italian jewelry designer, Oreste Giovanni CORLETTO, in partnership with Tishman & Lipp f ormed Corletto Inc fine jewelry manufacturers in 1963. World War II was behind us, the fifties gave us space exploration and rock n roll, while the sixties found new interest in natural materials and simplicity. Europe became the new leaders of style and fashion with the “City Gent” look while Paris, Rome, and New York became the Fashion Capitals of the world. America was finally open to foreign trade and Corletto was among the first to import a full collection of Italian merchandise for resale to the retail trade. Corletto designs were inspired by nature and figurative art, crafted with 18 karat gold, pearls, gemstones and diamonds along with finely carved Blackamoor figures and enamel work. He was known for his fine quality and craftsmanship. Hope this helps !"
http://cgi.ebay.com/Lorett-CORLETTO-18kt-750-Italy-Scrap-59-5-Grams-GOLD-NR-/320584617000?pt=Vintage_Fine_Jewelry

Not sure if you saw this or if it helps you mario.

Some more...
"Leo Lipp, a co-founder of Tishman & Lipp and partner in T&L Corletto Inc. passed away on June 18 in Sarasota, Fla. He is survived by his wife Stella, his daughter Karen Janowski, and his son Bruce.

Lipp served in the army during World Warr II as a cartographer in Europe and India. Beginning in 1946, he apprenticed at Gratz and Company in Manhattan. Soon after he formed a partnership with Sammie Resnick, and in 1950 he and Irving Tishman starred Tishman & Lipp, which continued until Lipp's retirement in 1985. Tishman & Lipp won a number of Diamond Today awards and twice"...(need to subscribe for the rest). http://www.allbusiness.com/manufacturing/miscellaneous-mfg-jewelry-silverware-fine/8215775-1.html

[mariok54]

Hi Wayward .. Thanks for trying... That is about as much as I could find for him, which strikes me as odd seeing as he seemed to have had such a good reputation, as did Tishman and Lipp. Thanks for the link... that was one watch I didn't see... the one that I did manage to find is this one,  but it didn't seem to have sold 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270638432974&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:VRI#ht_8955wt_932

We're not planning to sell, so any value is academic, or serves for insurance. I bought it to replace one that my wife lost (insurers managed to get out of paying anything  )

[KC]

Very interesting   Not to do with the watch tho
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Xak_M2ZpBisJ:bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/413/413.F2d.1401.630.31936.html+Tishman+%26+Lipp+jewelry&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a


There are many conflicting stories about the xact name of the company formed by Tishman and Lipp.....but believe this to be so....."Tishman & Lipp formed Corletto Inc. in 1963, in partnership with Oreste Corletto of Italy. The company was among the first U.S. manufacturers to import a full collection of Italian merchandise for resale to the retail trade. Tishman & Lipp also imported watches and was the first U.S. distributor of Ebel watches." http://www.jckonline.com/article/282005-Obituaries.php

It was also called T & L Carletto Inc. and Tishman Lipp & Carletto.....

To help establish value line of watch (which is inline with the others) http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/6727258

Tishman has an excellent reputation in diamonds.....even in 1919  http://books.google.com/books?id=BRrlAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA4-PA53&lpg=RA4-PA53&dq=Tishman+%26+Lipp+watches&source=bl&ots=Ys8-PqKUG_&sig=ewByPvFVr82EfiVibEXbubNXW44&hl=en&ei=rwfGTIODKoOglAeqj8EH&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CCoQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q&f=false

[mariok54]

Good Morning KC,

You certainly can dig deep! I did find that piece on the court case and found it fascinating that it actually went that far.. it really must have been a case of principle, I think. The other two links were new to me, and interesting, so many thanks for that. But it is still surprising that the same material about Corletto keeps on resurfacing, which is virtually nil .... And that's what has always had me puzzled, as he certainly has become incredibly collectable, with some of his small Blackamoor pieces fetching several hundred dollars apiece :

http://www.sportslinkup.com/shop/0-Corletto-blackamoor-1.html

For someones work to demand that amount for such small pieces, you would have thought that more would have been known about the chap... that's why  in my original question I was wondering whether the Corletto reputation had not just been hyped up by collectors. I even seem to have lied in my initial post when I said that I'd managed to locate bits about history and death ...but it was Lipp's death that I'd come across...

Corletto seems to have emerged from nowhere and disappeared into obscurity ....

[KC]

The hunt has just begun.........

[mariok54]

The hunt has just begun.........

 

[Rex]

I just came across this thread, and can confirm from our archives that Corletto a jewelry manufacturer that produced a nice line of 14kt snap back watch cases, attached is an image from our records of four cases that Corletto made for Andre Pailet.

[mart]

Wow !  An old post but how interesting ! Are you related to the company owners ?