Recently in Jewelry Category

Piaget has put together a collection of cocktail-inspired cocktail rings.  I'm particularly a fan of the slice of lime on the Mojito and the straw, set with diamonds of course, in the "Blue Ocean"  In their facebook app for the collection (sigh) they've even included recipes, which I've transcribed here ('s' in the recipe means shot).

Ref. G34LP200 Mojito Inspiration
18-carat white gold ring set with 182 brilliant-cut diamonds (approx 1.57 ct), 1 cushion-cut green tourmaline (approx 24.56 ct) 1 carved citrine (approx. 3 ct), 16 round-cut tsavorites (approx. 1.56 ct),120 round-cut emeralds (approx. 1.01 ct), 8 marquise-cut emeralds (approx. 0.61 ct)
3 s white rum
12 mint leaves
1 s sugarcane juice
1 lime
club soda
Put mint leaves, crushed ice and lime juice in a tall glass. Pour the rum over it and top with club soda

Ref. G34LP300 Whisky On The Rocks Inspiration
18-carat yellow gold ring set with 100 brilliant-cut diamonds (approx 0.83 ct),1 cushion-cut citrine (approx 27 ct) and 2 carved quartz ( approx 2.64 ct)
Even they don't bother with a recipe for this

Ref. G34LP400 White Tonic Inspiration
18-carat white gold ring set with 44 brilliant-cut diamonds (approx 1.56 ct), 1 round-cut bead peridot (approx 7.22 ct)
4 s Vermouth
3.5 s Lemon Juice
1t sugar
olive
mix vermouth, sugar and lemon juice directly in glass with a spoon, garnish with a dusting of sugar and olive

Ref. G34LP500 Blue Ocean Inspiration
18-carat white gold ring set with 122 brilliant-cut diamonds (approx 0.9 ct), 1 cushion-cut blue topaz (approx 37.5 ct), 1 bead cornaline (approx 1.43 ct)
1 s vodka
1 s blue Curacao
3 s grapefruit juice
Shake with ice and strain into glass, garnish with a cherry

Ref. G34LP700 Blueberry Daiquiri Inspiration
18-carat white gold ring set with 121 brilliant-cut diamonds (approx 0.89 ct), 1 cushion-cut amethyst (approx 35 ct), 30 brilliant-cut pink sapphires (approx 0.31 ct), 1 cabochon-cut ruby (approx 0.04 ct)
3 s blueberry schnapps
1 s white rum
1 s lime juice
2 s simple syrup
Mix in a blender and serve in a chilled glass, garnish with blueberries on a toothpick

Ref. G34LP800 Cosmopolitan Inspiration
18-carat white gold ring set with 197 brilliant-cut diamonds (approx 3.07 ct), 1 cushion-cut pink rubellite (approx 15 ct) and 1 carved citrine (approx 3 ct)
1 s Vodka
1 s Orange Liquor
1 s Cranberry Juice
1/2 s Lime juice
shake with ice and serve with a lime twist.

All photos from PuristsPro, all recipes from Piaget's Facebook page
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Sifis Stavroulakis is a Greek jeweler who has been based in Chania, Crete since 1990.  He works in 18k gold (always yellow) and silver.  He frequently reticulates (a process for creating a "crumpled" looking surface through the careful melting of the surface layer) the silver and oxidizes, or in other ways, colors it. 

From his website, here are some samples. First some broaches, Sifis seems to be fond of animal and plant forms, so here are some of each. (For all the images below, from his website, click through for a larger version)

The final broach is abstract, though clearly organic in form. It is set with diamonds in an old-fashioned cut known as the Rose cut, which renders the stone almost without fire.

The use of the vegetal forms is not limited to the broaches, but appears as necklace-pendents as well

The following ring is particularly interesting, it takes a common Roman form, the bezel set, barely polished aquamarine, and gives it an interesting modern twist with the square form to the body of the ring

There is also a series of small sculptures of plants in his collection, reminiscent in form of Faberge's flowers but that will have to wait for another post

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• As a followup to a previous post, here's more marketing spin on the Celsius X VI II Tourbillon phone
• A fantastic story of criminal failure, or why the inept don't realize it.
• Maison Margiela -- Not terribly interesting jewelry, but amusing web design, mimicking the auto-generated index of files that one sees if there is no index file present
• La Morra -- An Early-Music ensemble out of Basel has several of their works, including a lovely Danse de Cleves, online

I realize that I presented Louis Vuitton's second jewelry collection without presenting their first.  Also by Lorenz Baumer, L'Ame du Voyage (the soul of travel) consists of a series of openwork necklaces in gold and set with multi-colored stones.  It was revealed in the mid fall of 2009 and there was even a bit of video for it, with Mr. Baumer describing his concept and design process for the collection in French and some excellent close-ups of the pieces showing the LV-patterned openwork.

(source)

Five of the necklaces follow. All are 18k gold, pink, white or yellow and are set with diamonds and some of the following: Yellow, Blue and Papradasha Sapphires, Rubies, Spinels, Aquamarine and/or Tsavorite Garnet.

(image source, other source)

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Not usually known for their jewelry, the house of Louis Vuitton made quite a splash last year with a collection designed by Lorenz Bäumer (previously referenced). They have recently released another collection, Les Ardentes, in white diamond and white gold on his excellent designs. The signature elements of this collection are diamonds cut in the shape of the famous LV emblem, a cut which they have, for some reason, patented and then openwork of the same logo elements set with smaller stones.

First a selection of rings

Next a pair of bracelets

Several different pairs of earrings were included

Including my favorite piece from the collection, the long "shoulder-duster" earrings

Finally a pair of the necklaces in the collection

(source)


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Le Bon Marche is a department store with their flagship store on the Left Bank in Paris. Their jewelry department has recently commissioned several exclusive pieces including an interesting pair of abacus earrings by Axel Juret Jumahong, a Chinese designer who works under the name Junion.

Another piece in the collection is by Philippe Tournaire (previously mentioned), a ring with a tiny model of famous buildings of the Left Bank.

(source)


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Piaget has come out with some interesting pieces of late, focusing on combining black with white diamonds. First some pieces from their Jazz collection, starting with jewelry. The necklace in the form of a piano keyboard, with matching earrings, is done with black spinel and white diamonds, set in white gold

There are also two watches with a similar design, both with the dial hidden until it is revealed.
The Limelight watch uses the same elements and materials as the necklace.

The other piano-themed watch uses the smooth black of onyx paired with a pavee of diamonds.

To conclude the Jazz collection we have the Piaget Polo Tourbillon Relaitf (yes that is the real name). The tourbillon relatif is a movement unique to Piaget, with the rotating cage mounted at the end of the minute hand and the hours indicated by a small disk under that massive minute hand. For the Jazz model they have emphasized the distribution of music on the dial, with music notes and a stylized record.

and the performance of music with the cloisonne enamel work on the sides of the case

(All preceeding pictures from Paris Joaillerie)

To conclude with something truly unique, a black and white diamond "Quick Response" code necklace. A trend that has not escaped Japan, the QR code is a way to mark things (items, places, business cards, etc) and link them to content on the internet. You scan the QR code with something, probably a smartphone, and a small amount of digital data can be retrieved, such as a URL. Piaget has built one in white gold, set with 1042 white diamonds and 520 black spinels. If you scan it, it'll take you to a website they have built to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Possession collection.

(source)

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As a technique Guilloché has been mostly relegated to the realm of watch dials, with Allen Elishewitz's knives as the notable exception.  It is the sort of technique that was born during the enlightenment, wherein the number, grouping and depth of cams and bumps on a series of wheels can create fantastic patterns engraved into metal.

A late 18th Century rose engine for doing guilloche work, this engraving comes from Denis Diderot's Encyclopedia.
(From)

Louis the 16th practiced as a hobby using this lathe, now in the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers, in Paris. In this picture, the large steel wheels at center are th cams that determine the pattern; the piece to be cut would be attached to the brass disk at the right of the machine, and the machine would be turned, by hand, from the left via crank
(Picture is mine, 2008)

In recent years there have been some examples of the technique in jewelry, but mostly in watch companies trying to expand their ranges. Guinel, on the other hand, has no history in the watch industry, so their designs can be free of that baggage.

For a first piece they have a 18k gold pendent, with a band of diamonds. The engraved pattern is a rather simple one, a series of circles, each offset from the previous one, progressing around a circle. If these were done evenly, it would create a barley-corn pattern, but skipping every few causes a more interesting pattern to emerge

This next piece is from their Solitaire collection, a single diamond set in white gold. The side of the ring is decorated with a pattern called Soleil courbe (curve of the sun). I quite like the design, but could do without the brand name written in large letters around the outisde of the ring.

Finally a piece with the engraving in mother of pearl, one of the most difficult materials to engrave due to irregularities in the layers and overall brittleness. This piece is from their Helicie collection.

Jewelry photos from Paris Joaillerie



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