Boghossian’s jewels encompass an intricate technicality that brings a light fluidity to high jewellery. The Geneva-based brand is most famously celebrated for its Merveilles technique, where stones are placed next to each other – not quite touching, they appear magically to float, with none of the metal holding them in place visible. The light-filled results hover over earlobes or coil around collarbones for comfortable high jewellery that moves with the wearer.
‘The patented Merveilles technique is truly innovative and unique,’ points out Boghossian managing partner Roberto Boghossian. ‘We have made it possible for diamonds to be set on all sides of a jewel, as if they were floating on a nearly invisible metal structure. This revolutionary technique brings brightness to a whole new level because there is so little gold involved. The diamonds are the ones holding each other and sharing their light.’
The technique is demonstrated in the diamond ‘Sphere’ earrings and pendant, which knit diamonds into hypnotising patterns; in the ‘Icicle’ earrings, a sharp point of interwoven diamonds dangles from a flawless pair of Ceylon sapphires. Other pieces play with volume: marquise-shaped diamonds, sitting carefully on vivid Paraiba tourmalines, bring a tantalising depth, while a Madagascar sapphire resting in sapphire and cabochons, all set into chalcedony and mother-of-pearl, is a play on layering.
It joins other clever techniques that bring an airy weightlessness to high jewellery. The titanium fibre ‘Butterfly’ earrings, pendant and ring draw diamond-framed wings filled with gossamer-thin strands of titanium that shimmer as the wearer moves.
‘Designing jewellery is like painting with light,’ adds Boghossian. ‘Since gold can act as an obstacle, we aim to find new ways to part away from it as much as possible. This has been the case in all our innovative techniques: finding the best settings to enhance the gems – allowing them to shine freely. With titanium fibre, the material used is so delicate yet airy, which gives this appearance of lightness and fluidity.’
INFORMATION
boghossianjewels.com
-
Three sleek new design showrooms you need to see in Los AngelesThree international design showrooms have started a retail design boom in Los Angeles. Here are the stores to put on your radar
-
Brutalism in film: the beautiful house that forms the backdrop to The Room Next DoorThe Room Next Door's production designer discusses mood-boarding and scene-setting for a moving film about friendship, fragility and the final curtain
-
How Leigh Bowery and the Blitz Kids defined 1980s subculture with make-upAs Leigh Bowery and the Blitz Kids of 1980s London are celebrated in a new exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum, Isobel Van Dyke explores the hair and make-up looks that defined them
