DARING, DYNAMIC,
DRAMATIC
de GRISOGONO the quintessential
contemporary european jeweller celebrates
the Biennale des Antiquaires.
Ever since Fawaz Gruosi founded his small, exclusive jewellery house, in 1993, he has pushed boundaries, broken rules, taken risks, driving design and making scintillating waves in the rarefied world of high jewellery.
Today, his Geneva-based jewellery house, de GRISOGONO (named after the Marquise de GRISOGONO, mother of his former business partner), has a devoted international clientele, embracing nobility and celebrity, 16 boutiques around the globe, and a reputation as one of the most dynamic, trailblazing creative forces in contemporary precious jewellery.
To celebrate this year’s Biennale des Antiquaires opening this week in Paris, Gruosi presents a spectacular collection of characteristically sensational, intensely individual, one-of-a-kind High Jewellery masterpieces, presented, appropriately at the de GRISOGONO boutique on 358bis rue St Honoré.
Striking, high-spirited creations, composed around sublime gemstones, emeralds, diamonds, rubies encapsulate de GRISOGONO‘s brand of bold, baroque modernity and unbridled glamour. These high jewellery masterpieces bring together de GRISOGONO’s renowned innovation and ingenuity, the audacious synthesis of colour, form, material and craftsmanship that has been the hallmark of Fawaz Gruosi’s ground-breaking designs. It is a no-holds-barred collection, dazzling, seductive, fast-paced, with a provocative touch of decadence that reflects Gruosi’s personal passion, intuition and impulsiveness. It demonstrates his mix of respect and irreverence, the free-floating self-expression that has driven this young, dynamically different jewellery house, emphasising the very personal aspect of de GRISOGONO, and the intimacy of the niche brand.
total weight of
diamonds: 209.05 carats, total weight of remaining emeralds: 6.11 carats, mounted in white gold.
A timeless sophistication to de GRISOGONO‘s signature style includes
the powerful, abstract, non-referential forms, the pure compositions of line, colour and texture, the unexpected, arresting colour combinations, the rhythm of sheen and shine, the voluptuous volumes, perfect proportions and the balance of linear simplicity with sensuality. Most of all, the creations showcase de GRISOGONO’s courageous exploration of precious materials, and breathtaking craftsmanship, with a fresh focus on traditional coloured gems, emeralds, rubies and sapphires, and on lively mixtures of diamond cuts and shapes, playing with light, texture and movement; reinventing the classics, as only de GRISOGONO can do.
A multi-layered, multi-strand necklace, embodying today’s casual opulence, is centred on a graduated row of cabochon Colombian emeralds, each enveloped in a deep border of pavé set white diamonds; above and below ripple unruly rows of diamond briolettes and beads, their softness contrasting with linear bands of pavé diamonds scattered at random with emeralds.
A deep choker collar, with its hints of baroque or Belle Epoque femininity, so much part of de GRISOGONO style, is designed as alternating rows of intense emeralds, superbly matched and immaculate set, and diamonds of mixed shapes, with a flirtatious fringe of round, pear- and marquise cut diamonds resting on the collar bone. Each row of this necklace can be taken off so one can wear just a strand of diamonds or just a strand of emeralds.
Luscious earrings reinvent the classic creole hoop, the generous crescent shapes fully paved in white diamonds, suspending at their open centre a single large round white diamond rimmed in pavé rubies; or, on another pair of hoop drops, alternating sections of emeralds and diamonds, with emeralds at the top on one ear, and diamonds the other, the emeralds oozing into the diamonds. A more elongated look is created by a lush cascade of white diamond briolettes, each finishing in single crisp square radiant cut diamond each 5.3 carats, while, in another earring design, emerald briolettes are thickly clustered in a riot of intense colour beneath a single heart-shaped yellow diamond, each around 10 carats.
No de GRISOGONO creation would be complete without black diamonds: in 1996, Fawaz Gruosi changed the course of contemporary jewellery design with his first stunning collection of black diamonds. Now, for this celebratory collection, he reinvigorates his obsession with this enigma, the darkly mysterious black diamond; in a monumental ring, for example, a deep, scooped disc, embedded at its centre with a single round white diamond of 6.39 carats, ringed inside with silky circles of random pave black diamonds, and white diamonds, a design at once cosmic and architectural. In similar mood, a pair of wide fan shaped earrings, alternates bands of black and white diamonds, in different widths and textures, showing the de GRISOGONO blend of order and disorder, that inimitable touch of sensuality, surprise and wit.
diamond : 6.39 carats,
H — VS1, total weight of black diamonds : 12.72 carats, total weight of remaining white
diamonds : 9.33 carats, mounted in white gold
Here too, in the collection, are the “Icy Diamonds” the misty, opalescent, fluorescent diamonds, generally disregarded and rejected, but rescued and reappraised by de GRISOGONO, their glimmering beauty is now revitalised by fresh designs in the anniversary collection. Along with the warm, sensual earth-shades of Gruosi’s favourite brown diamonds, “Browny brown” and black gold, both black and “Icy” diamonds epitomise the unconventional materials pioneered by Gruosi. While new interpretations of the cocktail ring, the “power” ring integral to de GRISOGONO’s original style show Gruosi as the masterful maverick he is, subverting convention, for example, by unexpectedly placing two important emerald-cut white diamonds, each around 5.3 carats, one above the other, within a wide, sculptural, curved band of pavé rubies set in rose gold.
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Craftsmanship throughout the collection reaches new levels of virtuosity, shown to perfection in carefully considered, refined details, like those of Haute Couture, their delicacy balancing the power of the designs, and ensuring that each de GRISOGONO jewel is as exquisite on the reverse and inside, as it is on first sight. The diamond and ruby creole drop earrings, for example, are finished on the reverse with an intricate scrolling pavé set openwork, and spirals of micro-pavé rubies. In this way, the de GRISOGONO jewel becomes not only a statement of individual style, but also a personal, tactile, intimate treasure.
Uncompromising and single-minded in his vision of timeless modernity, overriding usual commercial considerations, sparing neither time nor money in his pursuit of perfection, Fawaz Gruosi shows that he still dares to express avant-garde designs in the most precious, treasured gems and materials, using today’s most advanced and skillful artisanship. Contemporary classics imbued with the spirit of innovation, modern for all time.
