Atelier Ratinaud: enamel and gold in the land of porcelain

INTERVIEW LAURENCE AND PHILIPPE RATINAUD CONDUCTED BY ELSA VANIER

Both jewelers, Philippe and Laurence Ratinaud create contemporary-style jewelry that is both precious and raw, incorporating materials such as wood, enamel and porcelain. They have won prestigious international competitions: winners of " De Beers Diamonds awards” in 1998 and “Tanzanite Fundation Awards” in 2007.

Alongside their own collections, this duo of designers creates pieces for major French houses. "Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant", the quality of their technique serves the finesse of their observations: the veins of wood, the bark, the twigs collected in the forest are evoked in their gold jewelry, associated with original gems and sometimes with enamel work.

The Ratinaud couple creates evocative jewelry, imbued with their beautiful Limousin countryside and its stories of fairies and beliefs. A creativity full of humor and complicity, with that little extra soul that makes each of their jewels endearing.

Elsa Vanier recently visited them and shared their journey and their bond of more than thirty years.

Laurence and Philippe, you are both jewellers and have been working together since you met at the great jeweller Poiray in the late 80s. How does your duo work? 

LR: On the design side, our creations, whether spontaneous or in response to an order, are always the subject of an exchange between us. These exchanges are fueled by often contradictory ideas, they can be quite lively but they generally and fortunately result in something concrete!

PR: Once the direction is determined, Laurence puts the ideas into drawings and works on the volume. I then take charge of the construction of the object at the workbench.

You moved to Limoges well after you started working. Can you tell us about your career?

LR: “Yes, Philippe studied at HBJO, now called Haute École de joaillerie, located on rue du Louvre in Paris and I at the school in Saint-Amand-Montrond, then we met at Poiray. 

Some time later, Philippe decided to set up his own business. Up until then, the path was classic. But an opportunity took us to the Philippines where we worked for Jewelmer, a company founded in the Philippines by a wonderful Breton entrepreneur who had developed a pearl farm. I designed and developed several collections of pearl jewelry, including the fabulous gold pearl from the Philippines, while Philippe managed a team of about forty jewelers. We spent two wonderful years in Manila and traveled a lot in Asia but we did not imagine living our whole lives there and finally returned to France. In 1992, we settled in Limoges, Philippe's hometown, in the heart of the green Limousin...

 “Can we talk about your collaborations with high-end jewelry houses?”

LR: Yes, but these collaborations are confidential and we cannot name names. These companies call on us for projects that require exceptional know-how, such as that required for automatons, for example. We are particularly recognized for our expertise in enameling precious metals.

Precisely, tell us about “enamel”, since you are recognized as specialists in this material which has recently come back to the forefront…

LR: "When we settled in Limoges, we naturally turned to local know-how such as porcelain and enamel that can be applied to jewelry. As for porcelain, we quickly joined the "Esprit Porcelaine" association, a very active club that brings together creators and artisans from Limoges. As for grand feu enamel on metal, I very quickly became passionate about this art that requires great dexterity in different techniques such as champlevé, cloisonné, painted enamel and plique-à-jour.

Nothing to do with lacquering or the resins applied to jewelry to color them, enamel uses ancestral, delicate, precious, and in return, very demanding techniques.

Enameling is an art of fire, made from powdered colored glass that is applied with a brush to a metal surface. This powder melts at around 800°, becoming a more or less translucent glassy material whose color will sometimes have nothing to do with the initial color. (See photo below). When the powder is suspended between 2 metal edges, the very delicate technique is called plique-à-jour and its translucent effect is incomparable. 

What are you working on at the moment and what are your plans?

PR: “We are developing a whole collection combining gold,silver, enamel and porcelain… Jewelry evokes our memories of Asia as well as our walks in the nearby countryside. We also continue our collaborations with high jewelry. They are enriching from every point of view, technical, professional while helping us to remain independent creators.

In 2009, you received the “Living Heritage Company” label. What did that change for you?

This label values know-how and creativity. After submitting an application, we spoke with experts and the State awarded us the EPV label, which is re-issued every five years. It is recognition of our work, our quality and creativity approach. This label creates a relationship of trust between labeled companies and reassures individual customers who are aware of this distinction.