Link up: a new French jewellery house rethinks the classic chain

'By creating this art house, I give myself a fundamental freedom – the one to choose,’ says Sandy Ruiz-Holleville. She refers to Maison Holleville as a jewellery editing house, unique among fine jewellery brands in its philosophy of appointing a new designer for each collection.

‘I’m not an artist and I don’t want to pretend to be through a brand,’ she adds. ‘Editing jewelry that bears the names of those who imagined them gives great meaning to my approach. I want to put the creator back at the centre of his art and art at the heart of a demanding and authentic creation.’

The first collection, Link Me, is a collaboration with Emmanuel Aubry, who Ruiz-Holleville met while working for fine jewellery house Goossens Paris. The pieces are made using traditional techniques and produced in Paris, rethinking the conventional link in bronze-gilded 18-karat gold. ‘With this collection, I reformed the link of a chain into an ornamental element, turning the technical element into the aesthetic part of the jewel,’ says Aubry on the offbeat design. ‘I focused on what you usually try to minimise.’ The resulting pieces are a testament to French craftsmanship, subverting traditional proportions in a chic reinterpretation of a classic. ‘I wanted it to be strong and bold, but also adaptable,’ says Aubry. ‘It is about strength while asserting refinement, elegance and sophistication.’