Morabito is a French luxury brand founded in 1905 in Nice by Jean-Baptiste Morabito. Luxurious leather, tortoise shell, purses and accessories were the specialty and quickly he opened the doors in Paris (see old photo). By now, 3rd generation Pascal Morabito is still in business in Paris but at 259 Rue St. Honoré, center of high end commerce, houses of fashion. This c.1920 sleek stylish cigar or cigarette case (or is it a card case - French business cards are about this size, too), is a true work of art. That is rare blond tortoise shell, semi-transparent. The frame is marked and has both the maker's shop name and also the French control marks for .800/1000 pure silver, a layer of 18k gold making it 'vermeil'. Perfectly inlayed on the top is the monogram L R in 18k gold. Measurements noted on photos.
Very good to excellent condition throughout. The only mention is a little surface loss to the 18k gold on the .800/1000 silver (boar's head profile mark), so some silver shows through here or there. This is a result of polishing for so many decades, and is quite normal. No chips nor hairlines, bug bites or cracks at all to the slabs of shell, and the 18k gold inlay monogram is perfect. A real beauty.
IMPORTANT NOTE regarding antique tortoise shell or ivory: We are great supporters of protection for endangered species in our modern world. We never buy or sell anything 100 years or newer; we donate to anti-poaching organizations; we don't hunt; we conserve in ways that impact global warming (we're totally solar at home), knowing those measures also protect the animals in the wild today. We also recognize the vast cultural history we preserve with our care and reverence for these antique objects, and agree with CITES that objects over 100 years of age have nothing whatsoever to do with species depletion in our current world.
Our offering exceeds the age limitation of "more than 100 years of age", and is well within the exemption for CITES regulation. If imported, met the CITES regulation. This item will be handled and shipped from our Utah business, and is not available for shipment internationally, nor within the USA to California, NY, Nevada, Hawaii, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington if it contains ivory, sorry. Please see our small print for more details.
