Here is a very special project. My first project with the Plique-à-jour technique of enameling. It was all about transparency and light, and also, movement. I tried to understand those feelings that lead people to show or hide themselves. It’s been inspired by separation grids that are worn in front of the eyes, the ultimate limit between hide and show, as everything is hidden. But here, the gravity wins, and it falls naturally on your heart like a beautiful blue wave, letting the light from above reflect the shades of blue and purple on the wearer. And to go further and answer to my own questions, it felt comfortable with the idea of splitting this structure in dozens of very little windows, with their own universe and their own colors, and designed it to express themselves individually or by pair, as pendants and earrings.

This project started with this 925 silver articulated necklace with australian chrysoprases cut by hand, which was actually my graduation work for my first jewelry diploma. This is about hexagonal pavement, which is one of the most perfect geometrical pattern that exists. It provides the most efficient usable space in a minimal volume. It reveals how far the bee hive is the perfect zero waste home! Even if it is a home of perpetual hard work, not a wing flapping is lost, every effort is converted in matter and/or energy and stored and shared by the whole community. The hexagone is the perfect balance between the square and the circle, it’s the perfect balance between opposites.

The necklace is articulated by invisible rings that allows to fit perfectly on the chest and move with the body. Everything here is about movement. The mate finish may not be very brillant but starts to shine vividly when moving.

The brooches which has been made later, are made with transparent vitrous enamels, that let the light go through. Here I use this old technique of enameling called “plique-à-jour”, as a way to enlighten the colors as there is a polished silver layer behind that reflect the light through the enamel. Design is thought to play with light reflections and it reveals under the sunlight all the depths of transparent colors of vitrous enamels.

ThE LEGEND of ThE BRISINGAMEN

This is a very special work on commission. I’ve been asked to bring back to life a necklace that could have been worn by the viking goddess of fertility Freyja. Some amber and glass pearls have been found in an ancient grave that supposed to belong to a “Volva”. Volvas were very powerful women who practiced magic, they often wore jewels made with pearls of glass and amber that came from the legendary necklace of their goddess. He trusted me to give a new life to those pearls and celebrate the ancient legend of the fabulous Brisingamen. The necklace had been forged by the dwarves and was supposed to give the power to seduce all men , women , gods and goddesses. Each pearls could be used as a weapon that could win any battle. It was a very powerful weapon, a symbol of the female divine power. It was also considered as the burden of the goddess of free sexuality. She indeed, had to spend a night and a day with each dwarf who forged it in order to acquire it. But she was married to a man she loved and spent the rest of her divine life with the sadness of her guilt. She cried for eternity, and each one of her tears turned into amber when they fell in the ocean.

Amber pearls, glass pearl, silver, oxidized silver and vermeil ( gold plated silver ). 2020.

This beauty is now in the collection of the Surnateum in Brussels.

Thanks to Christian Chelman, "le conservateur” , to have trusted me on this very special project.

http://logs.surnateum.com/brisingamen/

Adversus is a project about how we manage to deal with differences. How we manage to deal with disappointments, how much we’re able to show resilience when it’s needed. It’s a project about what stands between you and me and how we can deal with it.

It’s been thought as a meditative tibetan mala, where stone beads have been replaced by Plique-à-jour enameled elements that are each one very unique. Each element is a world to explore, with various shades of colors and transparency. They are separated by a pearl that symbolize the fruit of each one of these interactions.

This is a technical challenge as it involves CAD for conception, traditional metalsmithing techniques for prototyping, advanced molding techniques for castings, and tryouts and researches to find an alloy that could allow what silver can’t do with particular enamels. I’ve finally used an old Japanese alloy of copper and gold called shakudo and its traditional patina. It allowed me to use warmer colors of enamels and opalescent enamels. The casting techniques for such an alloy where also quite an experimentation.

The result is two very different bracelets with very different worlds of colors, reflections, and transparencies.

And as I love leftovers, I made some pairs of earrings to match with it.

“Once We Were One” is a project about transcendance. How individuals can exist separately and make as one in a greater organism. The challenge was about creating jewels that could be worn separately without anything else needed and still, make part of a beautiful sculpture.

Technically, the thorax, the head and the legs has been made from moldings and wax carving. Every piece has been reworked on metal to turn into a puzzle, the legs have been cut in pieces to be riveted and articulated, a structure has been created from traditional techniques of silversmithing to support it and to make the wings. I made the entire work by hand from molded parts of a large mold the original insect, playing between carving waxes and injection waxes. It took me one whole year to design it.

About the Kabutomushi:

The japanese rhinoceros beetle is very popular in Japan, it’s a symbol of strength and resistance. It’s indeed one of the heaviest insects in the world that still can fly. It has also a very strong singularity, indeed, he’s able to fly off vertically. So he’s a strong symbol of a direct go from the ground to the sky. Its strong lines and shapes have fascinated men for a very long time as it has inspired the design of the samurais‘s helmets.

It’s actually also five different jewels of a parure:

• A ring which is the head the japanese beetle.

• A scarf ring made of “champlevé” enameled oxidized 925 silver.

• An articulated bracelet made of the legs and feet, in oxidized 925 silver and natural rough crystals of red spinel.

• An articulated necklace, in oxidized 925 silver, decorated by stone-in wax set rubies ( synthetic ) or natural blue sapphires ( there are two versions )

• A pair of earrings, with stone-in-wax set sapphires or rubies.

ThE STORY BEHIND

There was a small pendant found in a flea market several years before, who was attached to my benchwork lamp. Not very elegant to wear as a pendant, he had been balancing over me, staring at me working and searching on my bench, for years, as a very patient guardian angel . Some day I saw him right above one of my signet rings and wondered, would you dare? He said yes.

CASTED STONEs TRYOUTS

I have loved stones for a while, fine stones and precious stones, way before i made my first jewelry. But traditionnal settings with all its limits and curbs, made me put them aside a moment, as i had found more freedom of expression in the enameling process. Then, I’ve started to hear about “stone-in-wax” setting. Melt metal is directly poured on the stones which are set directly in the waxes. I developed my own way to put the stones in the wax models. It’s quite exciting that results are very random, It obviously requires some cold blood skills and resilience to make such works but it’s worth it, really.

FROM RING to earrings

Let’s be honnest, every tryout is not always successful. But when a ring, still covered with investment, tells you : “ I still want to live you know “ , you just say: Yes u can!

BROOCHES

Insects are the Man’s best friends, I’ve always loved insect brooches, they are not my first ones, as the first ones were very, very big, I’ve made those tiny brooches, easy to wear.

SIGNET RINGS

All these signet rings came with a story. An antique silver coin with the face of Marc-Aurele, casted in wax to make the signet ring, then molded, casted again and enameled or getting some rubies within. Different colors, different finishes, different sensations. The other model is made from an antique bronze coin decorated with the wolf mother, remulus and remus.

STICKS AND STONES

STICKS AND STONES

Its name won’t tell you what’s it’s designed for, but, I will. This was my very first drawing of a jewel during my first year of jewelry school. This all bout air, breathing and delicacy, deeply inspired by old japanese prints. I’ve waited a couple of years before being able to find the best way to make it. It’s fully articulated with small rivets, everything is forged by hand and the stones are set with traditional techniques of setting up by hand. My love for the japanese aesthetics is hard to hide on that one.