Translated by Bethszabee Garner

Luxury jewellery combines the stylistic audacity of jewellers with the virtuosity of the artisans in their workshops, giving rise to styles and creations that have become classics. Challenging the established order of jewellery in their time, they have shaped a contemporary vision.

The unfailing flexibility of luxury jewellery

Thanks to uniquely flexible tubular bands of precious metal called Tubogas, the Bvlgari workshops developed jewellery and watches in the late 1930s that were remarkably flexible, wrapping themselves magically around the wrist or neck.

During the Second World War, as supplies of platinum and diamonds became scarce, the Italian jeweller began to favour yellow gold and developed a new technique inspired by industrial gas pipes and car exhausts. Armed with coils of gold wire, a vice, pliers and a strange rod, the craftsmen wrapped two long ribbons of gold with raised edges around a wooden rod, also known as a core, so that they interlocked and held together without any soldering. The rod, which gives the precious tube its shape, is then removed to bring the jewellery to life. In 1948, the first Serpenti watches were created: geometric dials mounted on Tubogas bracelets that wrap around the wrist. A cult favourite since the 1970s, the Tubogas aesthetic is back today in sixteen new designs: bracelets, choker-style necklaces in gold or set with diamonds, and Serpenti pieces.

Invisibile

The Serti Mystérieux is one of Van Cleef & Arpels' signature techniques. These unique creations, made using this technique, are masterpieces that have earned the jeweller its reputation for exceptional craftsmanship and are also testament to the constant search for innovation and inspiration that has driven the jeweller since its creation in 1906. Patented by Van Cleef & Arpels in 1933, this setting technique is a true feat of jewellery craftsmanship.

Its secret lies in the use of straight or curved gold rails into which stones cut meticulously for this purpose – most often rubies, but also sapphires and, more rarely, emeralds or diamonds – are fitted one by one, edge to edge, without claws or chatons. Once in place, the precious stones perfectly cover the set surface, giving the piece a velvety shine. In 1937, the house also developed the individual Mystery Setting, in which the stones are held individually. From the 1990s onwards, Van Cleef & Arpels developed new techniques such as the hexagonal Mystery Setting, the Navette Mystery Setting and the Stained Glass Mystery Setting.

Multicoloured Jewellery

The links between Cartier and India began early in the jeweller's history. In 1910, Jacques Cartier travelled to Delhi to search for precious stones and meet with maharajas. Many of them became clients, and their orders left their mark on the history of the Maison. In the 1920s, some of them entrusted Cartier with their ceremonial jewellery, to be remounted in the Parisian style on platinum settings that gave the gems incomparable brilliance. This gave rise to lavish combinations of emeralds, sapphires and rubies engraved or carved in the shape of plants, opening up a stylistic field that would later be known as Tutti Frutti. The workshops sought to recreate the natural look of branches and buds through an explosion of floral, fruit and palmette motifs, smooth and ribbed balls, rubies, sapphires and emeralds. The challenge was to combine a variety of different stones, engraved with floral motifs using a technique developed by the Mughals in the 17th century. Since then, this source of inspiration has given rise to dazzling pieces of craftsmanship and creativity every year, exploring shapes, volumes and colour combinations.

Just a line

The ‘fil couteau’ is a Chaumet speciality. These elongated lines of gold, on which the chatons that hold the stones are set, form a discreet and graphic structure. Thanks to this expertise, the house's master jeweller gives the settings a great deal of lightness and makes the metal almost disappear to the eye, allowing the stones to express their full beauty. It also ensures optimal comfort when worn. The fil couteau can be articulated when the gems are particularly heavy. But while the fil couteau usually plays a supporting role, serving to enhance the stones, Chaumet has also worked it in reverse for the Perspectives fine jewellery collection. Like a three-dimensional mesh, the metal wires encapsulate rubellites on a necklace, ring, bracelet and earrings, giving the impression of a playful rib cage enclosing a beating heart.

Question Mark

In 1879, Frédéric Boucheron designed the first necklace without a clasp: the Question Mark, a model that a woman could put on by herself, without outside help. It is a thin, flexible, asymmetrical spring-loaded choker. This creative design earned the jeweller numerous awards, including the Grand Prix at the 1889 Paris Universal Exhibition. The first sketches of the Point d'Interrogation necklace show a shape that wraps around the neck and descends to the top of the chest, available in several naturalistic variations. There is a Point d'Interrogation necklace in plane tree, poppy, lotus and ivy versions, among others.

In the early 2000s, the snake motif gave this necklace a modern twist. Last year, Boucheron unveiled new reversible variations, inspired by a special commission made for American businessman Cornelius Vanderbilt in 1884. On the front, precious stones catch the light (red rubellites, green tourmalines and blue tanzanites), while on the back, the transparency of rock crystal is enhanced by a pavé setting of diamonds.

The goldsmith of precious metals

‘Less is more: always take away, never add’ is a philosophy that has guided Buccellati's creations since its foundation in 1919 by Mario Buccellati. His reputation as an outstanding goldsmith has spread beyond Milan to the rest of the world, thanks to his gold filigree jewellery. Although enthusiastic about the style of ancient periods, he never sought to imitate Renaissance jewels, but rather to interpret them, combining them with an interest and attraction for Venetian art.

An aesthetic and craftsmanship that continues today within the family business, making these featherweight treasures iconic. Each creation has a rich texture and resembles sumptuous fabrics, delicate damasks and Venetian lace. The gold is worked in a ‘tulle’ or ‘honeycomb’ pattern, similar to the fabrics of the same name. This technique involves piercing a sheet of precious metal with a metal saw to create a network of tiny polygonal holes. In order to achieve perfection and regularity in the design, each cell must be reworked with a hand saw at least five times. This pattern is embellished with engraved gold elements or precious stones.

Sculptor of gold

Piaget is a watchmaker and an outstanding jeweller. In 1957, he decided to work exclusively with precious metals such as gold and platinum, applying a multitude of shapes and textures to them. The material is woven, braided or engraved. At the 1969 Basel Fair, Piaget unveiled the ‘21st Century’ collection, which had a huge impact, consisting of a series of spectacular, contemporary and incredibly avant-garde watches. Imposing graphic cuffs in openwork gold flirt with generously textured gold bracelets, complemented by extravagant necklaces that tell the time in twisted gold and vibrantly coloured dials.

It was at this time that Piaget unveiled the Décor Palace, so characteristic with its sparkling, woven-like texture that gives the outer surface of the precious metal an iridescent effect often compared to raw silk. Its fluid, rhythmic engravings require a very special skill. Grooves and lines of varying depths, thicknesses and trajectories are incised into the gold one by one by hand with the tip of a chisel until the desired pattern is achieved. After each stroke, the goldsmith delicately sweeps the gold shavings from the surface of the metal. Passed down from generation to generation, the technique has become so refined that today, this style of engraving can transform solid gold into an infinite variety of patterns: tree bark, snake scales, the sparkling surface of a Swiss lake or even undulating silk ribbons.

In complete freedom

Spinning and joyful, Chopard's Happy Diamonds have punctuated the brand's greatest moments since 1976. The jewellery, from pendants to earrings, rings and watches, contains moving diamonds between two sapphire crystals.

Set free, these stones create a unique play of light with their intertwined circles and full, rounded curves. Chopard also designs jewellery sets composed of white gold circles set with diamonds against a pearl mother-of-pearl background. On the mother-of-pearl, mobile diamonds twirl between the famous sapphire crystals. Over the course of the collections, the gems have also appeared set on prongs, allowing the light to play even more with the free diamonds.

Chained

With decades of experience in chain work, Italian jewellers excel in its manufacture. In 1967, Pomellato was founded in Milan. Thanks to the intuition of its founder, Pino Rabolini, heir to a family of goldsmiths, the house was one of the first to introduce the ready-to-wear philosophy into its precious collections. Pomellato offers jewellery that can be worn according to the latest trends, with a strong identity symbolised in particular by the chain that the jeweller continues to work on through the iconic Tango. Rose gold bracelets, necklaces and earrings revisit the Forçat mesh by alternating the proportions of the rings, multiplying the rows on a choker, mixing opulence and minimalism. The natural style of the Iconica line lies in its large volumes and asymmetry, visible in the different shapes and sizes of the links, which add a touch of fashion to the classicism of the chain as a piece of jewellery. Diamond versions are also available. The gems are assembled informally using a ‘snow setting,’ creating a random stone pattern.

A question of balance

In 2014, Gaia, the daughter of jeweller Alberto Repossi, unveiled Serti sur Vide. An aesthetic faithful to the heritage of fine jewellery, but one that also breaks with convention. Its unique design was born from a challenge set by the father to his daughter. Placing a stone between her fingers, she decided to capture the legendary gesture of the gemmologist in order to reinvent the classic solitaire, thus giving birth to Serti sur Vide. The stones in the rings, ear cuffs, bracelets and necklaces are set using the "‘Eiffel Tower’ chatons technique", highlighting the perfection of the pear shapes and maximising the sparkle of the stones by making the setting disappear.

Article from issue 13 of Oniriq magazine by Fabrice Léonard