Le Gramme
14 February
French brand Le Gramme’s first boutique encapsulates the simplicity that characterises its architecturally clean jewels. Jewellery, named after their metric weight, look at home in the new boutique, on the rue Vieille du Temple in Paris. Details are stripped-back to the essential; showcases are sans hinges, windows slide like guilltonties or fold out like wallets, all the better for displaying the pieces. ‘We designed absolutely everything in our first store, it perfectly reflects our attention to detail,’ says Erwan Le Louër, co-founder of the brand. ‘Our desire was to present our creations on the wall without cluttering the space.’ We would say the result, beautifully crafted from glass, concrete and lava stone, certainly achieves that.
Writer: Hannah Silver
Giorgio Armani
12 February
Giorgio Armani’s first fine jewellery collection intertwines leitmotifs of the brand’s identity with pieces that nod to references already familiar to us from the fashion collections. While Armani has flirted with jewels before – in the mid-Seventies his objets with hard stones and glass paste revealed his inclination for the eccentric – these new high jewellery pieces, to sit alongside the prêt-à-porter collection, are wholly new. Divided into three distinct themes, it is the Borgonuovo pieces that have caught our eye. Strong, simple silhouettes play with the ubiquitous logo, tracing its lines in thick curls of gold, occasionally softened by pavé diamonds or glittering semi-precious stones.
Writer: Hannah Silver
Anissa Kermiche
4 February
We have been following jeweller Anissa Kermiche’s new ventures with interest; her mischievous jugs, a play on the female bust, have rapidly become an irreverent mainstay of contemporary interiors. Her mission to adorn the home as well as the body continues apace and we were pleased to hear that she is expanding her Objects collection. These candlestick holders – appropriately entitled Blobby – have just launched in a new textured matte hue which brings a warmth to the twisted ceramic silhouettes.
Writer: Hannah Silver
Kids’ stuff
29 January
As fine designers tinker with childhood-inspired treasures, a new pop sensibility abounds. Swiss jeweller Suzanne Syz was inspired by Sylvie Fleury’s spaceship sculptures and Tintin’s Destination Moon
to create earrings featuring a pair of titanium rockets blasting off towards a diamond-studded star or moon. Richard Mille’s Cécile Guenat approached watch design like the proverbial kid in a candy store to create the delectable Bonbon collection. It includes an update on the ‘RM 07-03’ timepiece with an enamel dial resembling a squidgy marshmallow
twist and tiny sugar-like sprinkles of precious stones. As for Milanese house Pomellato, it celebrates the 30th anniversary of its ‘Orsetto’ teddy-bear necklace this year, demonstrating the lasting charm of a childhood memento. Whether you’re sentimental for cartoons, confectionery or cuddly creatures, you won’t
be throwing these precious toys out of the pram.
Photography: Kayser & Schmuck. Writer: Laura Hawkins
By Pariah
24 January
By Pariah, named after the Pariah region in the Caribbean famed for its untouched, raw beauty, strives to encapsulate the same spirit of wildness in their jewellery. Jewels are in heavy gold and studded with a rainbow of stones, from dark red tiger eye to vivid green amethyst and yellow citrine. ‘The result is both playful and sophisticated,’ says founder Sophie Karg of the new collection which is launching next month at Browns. ‘I am fascinated by the randomness of semi-precious stones.’ These Baroque Lariat earrings let the natural beauty of the pearls speak for themselves, celebrating their irregularity in swaying ropes long enough to graze the shoulders.
Writer: Hannah Silver
Chaumet
11 January
The new Jeux de Liens Harmony collection from Chaumet continues the Maison’s play with the circle. Here, its endless nature is interrupted by the familiar crossed links, versions of which have been part of Chaumet’s jewellery creations for decades. The two asymmetrical rose gold parts of the necklace can be softened with mother-of-pearl or sharpened with brilliant-cut diamonds, but it is this version in seductive onyx which is going on our wish list.
Writer: Hannah Silver
