Aldo Cipullo

In 1959, a handsome young Italian man in his early twenties migrated to New York City and, within a decade, would make an indelible mark on the world of high jewelry and high fashion through his creation of one of the most iconic and recognizable of all jewelry designs. That man was Aldo Cipullo and that creation, the Love bracelet of Cartier, is one of the bestselling jewelry items of all time. Though his life was relatively short, it was marked by great accomplishments and moments of staggering genius that have given him a well-deserved place as one of the most important jewelry designers of the 20th Century. 

Having left Italy and an apprenticeship at his father’s silver and costume jewelry factory in Florence to pursue larger ambitions in the jewelry world, Aldo Cipullo was quickly recognized for his talent and employed by both Tiffany & Co. and David Webb. However, creating grandiose jewels in traditional style under the umbrella of these strongly branded companies was ultimately unsatisfying for the young artist and in 1969 he joined the design team at Cartier New York. It was in his first year as a designer that Cipullo created his most iconic piece – the sleekly modern and unisex Love bracelet. In a 1972 article by Marian Christy for the Reading Eagle, Cipullo remarks, “Love has become too commercial, yet life without love is nothing – a fat zero. What modern people want are love symbols that look semi-permanent – or, at least, require a trick to remove. After all, love symbols should suggest an everlasting quality.”  http://www.beladora.com/2013/07/all-about-aldo-the-great-cartier-designer-aldo-cipullo/

The Love Bracelet

In 1969, Aldo Cipullo created the love bracelet inspired by medieval chastity belts in an attempt to create somthing beautiful and deep with meaning for those lucky enough to have one bought for them (you could not buy one for yourself). Since thier creation thier hefty price tag has meant that these bracelets remain inaccesable to most, well that was untill everyone got the internet and had access to much cheaper 1:1 replicas made in china but anyway ...I digress.

All this got me thinking...did Aldo Cipullo create the first slave/sub bracelet?

Ok so i'll admit that Aldo never called or hinted that his 'Love' bracelet was intended for this purpose but c'mon...it seems pretty clear to me that it is about ownership...or is that just my dirty mind? I dont know where Aldo really got his idea from, and I also don't know if companies like eternity collars, who produce looking metal bracelets (cuffs), anklets and necklaces (collars), where inspired by Aldo or if they created thier bracelets by coincidence, but my guess is that Aldo has had some influence. My idea has been somwhat backed up by the discovery of this...

.....The Eternity Whisper Cuff 

With a RRP of just  $125 (still a bit above my budget lol) this is not a bad replica. Eternity promotes this locking bracelet as "Inspired by popular design" perfect for "any event or proffessional setting where you want to symbolise your bond and keep it a secret"... true...unless your collegues or eek your boss also has a kinky side... or worse a keen mind that is able to put 2+2 together! Genrally however, most people do not notice these things..unless there are themselves into the kink, nor do they think about them or ask, and if they do, they dont say, and with all these celebraties walking around with slave..i mean 'love' bracelets these days there are no doubt plenty of women walking around in these for purely fashion / asthetic reasons. I say this because I am the owner of a Raw eternity cuff (see below) which I wear when I can (I get terrible eczma on my wrists from wearing it too much) and nobody has ever battered an eyelid at it despite the fact that it is a big chunky stainless steel bit of metal which does not resemble any other sort of bracelet I have seen for sale anywhere else. I am actually quite amazed that nobody has ever questioned why I was wearing such a plain bracelet that is so heavy and durable and not so much asthetic, there are no pretty diamonds or detail on this cuff, just raw metal.... Dont get me wrong, I like the simplicity and understated the minimalist apearance of this cuff. It is durable and made to "take all the punishment thrown its way" (which means I dont have to take it off when I do crazy shit likte wash the dishes and bathe lol). I like it more than some chunky of leather that looks like somthing out of an ann summers BDSM pack for beginers or what one might expect to see on some 14 year olds wrist at a music consert. I like it, but I also wish it was more asthetic, more like Aldo Cipullos creation, beautiful and elegant.

 Finding out about Aldo's bracelets conjured up images of the film story of o (1975) in which O recieves a special ring.. and a labia piercing whilst being submerged in what seems like a very upper class environment of elite clubs and secret mansions where expensive and deeply symbolic jewelry such as this would be all the rage! 

I am never going to own a real Cartier bracelet, and i'm fine with that. Even if i could afford it, could I really justify spending £1,000-4,000 on a bracelet?! I can however afford a £6.99 replica I found on ebay earlier this week! check this out...