Gemstone Art
In contrast to other luxury segments, high jewelry is currently undergoing a real momentum. Fine pieces adorned with beautiful gemstones fulfill the consumer’s desire for value that lasts, emotional resonance and self-expression. Let me invite you to a journey of creative inspiration.
A brief historical overview
Since the beginning of civilization, precious stones have exerted special fascination over humankind – their intrinsic beauty as well as their symbolism up to their social value. In the evolution of luxury jewelry they have followed a captivating path from mystical talismans into artistic and technical masterpieces.
Most gemstones are minerals. Some crystallize from smelts and gases deep within the earth, others from lavas on the earth’s surface, still others with the help of organisms.
In ancient Egypt, precious stones such as lapis lazuli, agate and turquoise were cut and incorporated into ornaments, they remained reserved for the nobility. Color held deeply symbolic meaning, thus the blue of lapis lazuli represented wisdom and truth, whereas the agate symbolized protection and harmony. This kind of spiritual connection was even celebrated in classical Greece and the Roman Empire, introducing cameos and intaglios.
With the Middle Age, precious stones gained a new meaning. Since that time they are also attributed with healing properties.
During the Renaissance, the exploration of and trade with the East enriched the variety of stones available in Europe. Now diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires were crafted with increasing aesthetics, a jewel began to be seen as a work of art, a reflection of status and even taste.
The 19th century brought decisive evolutions: the introduction of the brilliant cut and the refinement of platinum-set jewelry. Leading Parisian maisons like Cartier and Boucheron established new standards of sophistication, combining rare gems and avant-garde design.
Opulence and glamour gained prominence in the jewelry sector with the 20th century and replaced the Art Deco style which solidified the dialogue between architecture and jewels. Onyx, coral and jade were boldly incorporated alongside especially diamonds.
Today high jewelry enters a new era when a gemstone’s rarity is also fused with sustainability, traceability and creative uniqueness. And a prestigious designer’s focus has definitely shifted to the individuality of each creation where a gemstone is now a narrative, identity-bearing element assuring its wearer personal expression.
Ingenious creators
Allowing ourselves to be seduced by true masters of haute joaillerie, let me refer to three of them who significantly shaped this genre.
‘Enough is insufficient’ – Patrice Leguéreau wonderfully expanded Coco Chanel’s version of modern luxury. Since 2009 he has told stories about her, including about the preferred fabric of her costumes: tweed. Taking up its structure, he developed a fully enamelled jewelry fabric, a collier embroidered with pearls and gemstones and which feels like cloth. ‘Tweed couture’ in the truest sense of the word.
For Claire Choisne, haute joaillerie invites consideration, questions the precious and reflects our emotions. Together with her team at Boucheron, she wants to push the bounderies of imagination.
One of her ‘Collections histoire de style’ she devoted to ‘The power of couture’. My preferred highlight: A rock crystal bow, as supple as a grosgrain ribbon, topped with diamonds. Therefore, 435 frosted rock crystal tubes have been cut, sandblasted and then assembled. The framework of white gold was refined as much as possible to light the piece and guarantee its flexibility. A class of its own!
And finally the phenomenon Joel Arthur Rosenthal, founder of the jewelry atelier JAR: His jewels shimmer in the finest shades of color. Often there are more than 10.000 gemstones which he sets almost invisibly, as if it were petit point embroidery; the house’s ‘Wild roses’ clips as only one example are covered with sapphires, tourmalines, citrines, garnets and diamonds.
In 2013 Joel Arthur Rosenthal became the first living jewelry artist to be honored with a retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
