Parisian jewellery brand Héloïse & Abélard is championing secondhand diamonds

As the first Parisian jewellery house to use secondhand diamonds, Héloïse & Abélard is putting a thoughtful spin on jewellery design.

Founder Héloïse Schapiro brings more than a decade of experience in the Place Vendôme to jewels which encompass a relaxed fluidity, describing her design aesthetic as having a ‘joyful disorder’: ‘asymmetry, a vintage style, easy to wear, modern but timeless and romantic’. She adds: ‘I play with diamond forms and dimensions to create rhythmed arrangements. My inspiration comes mainly from geometric abstraction and the work of essential figures of abstraction such as Sophie Taeuber-Arp and Theo van Doesburg. I also love Italian designers such as Ettore Sottsass. 

‘I try to design original abstract choreographies of recycled stones, which vibrate every day alongside committed women who wear them. I love to create tiny and complex jewellery-objects which, worn as posed, play on the relationships of spaces and shapes, to execute a precise and precious choreography. I hate classic rigid, bulky, heavy jewellery. I like to work on architecture and minimise heights, reduce gold, to offer very easy-to-wear jewellery for active women taking bicycles to work, taking care of their children. I hate “trophy” jewellery and feel the ‘solitaire’ form is so old fashioned.’

Gold’s recyclable quality makes it a natural draw for Schapiro. ‘There is enough gold already extracted to ensure jewellery industry production for the next 50 years. Regarding diamonds, we may have extracted almost 80 per cent of the diamonds ‘stock’ in the world. Knowing that, shouldn’t we reuse instead of extract? 

‘For me, it became obvious that I had to create the first jewellery brand with repetitive collections, produced only with recycled gold, and secondhand stones. My vision is simple: diamonds are indestructible and gold is infinitely recyclable. So, I wanted to create an accessible luxury brand with high Parisian quality standards, but ethical positions regarding sourcing and production. The desirability of the designs and sustainability of the production. Circular jewellery with reasonable margins and prices for all – a brand with a singular identity, that was inclusive, transparent, easy to wear, modern but timeless, with a playful DNA.’

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