Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/856465
P eople collect all sorts of stuff, big and small, worthless and priceless. Gerard Smith is one guy who has the collecting bug in a big way. "When I go into something, I go full on," the Southern California busi- nessman says. In the past, Smith collected currency, but not in a typical, hobby-level-numismatist's manner. At one point, he owned the first piece of paper money in existence…like he says, Smith goes full on. So, when he turned his eye to the elegant glass hood ornaments— known as "mascots"—created by French glass artist Rene Lalique, Smith set his sights on the Holy Grail: The "Royal Blue," the bespoke master- piece crafted for HRM Prince George of England, Duke of Kent (1902- 1942) to adorn the Prince's Rolls Royce. Also known as "Levrier 1," ("grey- hound" in French) the piece is the only Lalique mascot custom-designed for an individual and not placed into commercial production. "All Rene Lalique mascots are rare, and some only exist in numbers estimated at fewer than a dozen," Smith says. Royal Blue is the rarest of the rare: it is one-of-a-kind. The story of how Smith acquired it is worthy of a Sam Spade-style gumshoe novel. Born in 1860, Rene Lalique distinguished himself in two fields, first as a master designer of Art Nouveau jewelry around the turn of the 20th cen- tury and then as a glassmaker. By 1910, Lalique had established a factory to manufacture the Art Deco architec- tural elements he designed in glass. By the 1920s, his reputation for these exqui- site luxury items was well established. Noting this success, the first automo- bile manufacturer to knock on Lalique's Alsatian factory door was Andre Citroen, who commissioned the "Cinq Cheveaux" ("Five Horses") mascot for his model Citroen 5CV, an automobile that was first displayed publicly in 1925. Just a few years later, Lalique's artful mascot line graced the era's finest marques: Isotta Fraschini, Hispano Suiza, Bugatti, Bentley and Rolls Royce. They are superb examples of the Deco aesthetic in the form of animals 206 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R / F A L L 2 0 1 7 Sirène (Small Mermaid), Sanglier (Wild Boar), Naïade (Large Mermaid). From motoring's earliest days, enthusiasts have sought to personalize their vehicles. While some Laliques were designed for specific car companies, these were aftermarket items. Royal Blue is the rarest of the rare: it is one-of-a-kind. The story of how Smith acquired it is worthy of a Sam Spade-style gumshoe novel.