Jewels that bear witness to great history

PRODUCED BY KYRA BRENZINGER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 

At thesecond-hand of the next exhibition-sale of 58 Facettes at Village Suisse in the very chic district of the 15th arrondissement of Paris, you will not only be able to discover antique jewelry, but also have your jewelry appraised and why not give them a second life. Let's discover some experts offering a new look at ancient jewelry.

Emylienne: the know-how of forgotten jewelry and upcycling

The designer Audrey Barbier, with her 15 years of experience within the house Cartier, knows how to immediately detect jewelry of exceptional quality. “I often buy small jewels, like small rings or hat picks, which are not very expensive but which are real treasures in terms of know-how! Through these antique jewelry, we can discover forgotten techniques such as the double tone of gold with the use of white gold below the jewel and yellow gold above or the “bâte”, a piece which encircles the underside of the jewel. stone, often worked in filigree.” With these old pieces, Emylienne (in homage to her grandmother's first name) gives them a second life by mounting them on jewelry that is easy to wear every day. “For the exhibition-sale of 58 Facettes, I am going to present small rings like the Discrète model, decorated with a small gold lace pattern and set with small pearls which was on a hat pin. I also made a matching open bracelet with a pretty pearl.” Another very trendy piece: a cameo from the 19th century reassembled on a rosary chain which offers a new wear.

When her clients bring her family jewels, she makes suggestions for transformation to provide a more current look. “On the other hand, I definitely don’t touch jewelry branded which must remain intact to retain their value! ".

Audrey Barbier claims upcycling by starting with existing jewelry, but also by respecting know-how. “I sometimes saw some old pieces that were simply melted down to recover the gold or stones… So, I wanted to pay homage to these artisans of the time by transforming antique jewelry to create jewelry that is more in tune with the times.”

Delicata: meeting antique jewelry

With her multiple Mediterranean origins (Greece, Malta, Sicily), Florence Delicata quickly became passionate about history and mythology. “Passionate about antiques, my husband gave me an amulet which I transformed into jewelry. I got a lot of positive feedback and in 2018 I started creating jewelry from old coins. I work with the best numismatists, experts in Roman, Egyptian and Napoleonic coins”

For the exhibition-sale of 58 Facettes, Florence Delicata mainly reveals her Roman coins, transformed into rings or pendants. To add a precious touch, she adorns them with rubies which enhance the color of thesilver patinated by time or affixes small granules around the closed setting. Famous emperors like Constantine or Maximian Hercules take us to the heart of great history. “I wish to sublimate these treasures of the past, in order to bring them back to life. True witnesses of history, I respect their memory because the pieces are neither pierced nor damaged. I transform them in my workshop into unique jewelry to wear.”

Some clients seek the symbolic value of mythological figures such as strength with Hercules or a feeling of success through the figure of Victory. “Customers wear these pieces as amulets to bring them luck or give them strength.” This is also the theme of his next project: the creation of jewelry from Egyptian amulets and arrowheads to help us better face our world today!

Karine Chedid: the jewel of feeling

Gemologist and great enthusiast of beautiful stones, Karine Chedid works at the stroke of her heart. “When I look for an antique piece of jewelry, what interests me are atypical stones like Champagne or salt and pepper or Icy colored diamonds with frosted effects. For sapphires, I favor two-tones with subtle colors like blue-green or red-orange which give a shimmer like velvet.”

For jewelry transformations, she attaches great importance to meaning as indicated by her baseline: the jewelry of feeling. “I work with stones, but also with the emotions of the people who entrust me with family jewels! I try to keep the memory of the history of jewelry while transposing it into modernity to wear it every day.” Thus, she transforms a ring from the 40s into a necklace or an imposing diamond dome ring into small bracelets and rings to share within the same family. Currently, several trends stand out such asArt Deco, but also the Victorian era or Art Nouveau. “We are returning to naturalness and the floral side. Moreover, I have made several Art Nouveau-inspired creations for young women.”

Thus, for the exhibition-sale of 58 Facettes, Karine Chedid offers both an Art Nouveau-inspired floral brooch and a magnificent brooch Art Deco of Mauboussin (circa 1920) or animal brooches from the 1950s like the charming Fawn or Squirrel from Hermès.

A trained gemologist (ING Paris and Gem-A in London), she also advises certain clients in their choices of purchasing investment stones. “Of course, they often want diamonds, but I direct them towards colored diamonds or even stones whose value is increasing, like spinels.” All its suppliers are members of the RJC (Responsible Jewelery Council) and for diamonds, they are part of the Kimberley Process because traceability is essential for investment stones and for personal values.