In the jewellery sector, there are two distinct entities: the brands and the workshops that manufacture internally and externally for them. On the one hand, recognition and on the other, discretion, confidentiality and often silence. To such an extent that the vast majority of customers are unaware that five, ten, and sometimes even more than fifteen people are involved in a piece of jewellery displayed in a jeweller’s window: designer, computer graphics specialist, founder, jeweller, setter, polisher, engraver, supplier of gems and diamonds, etc. These “hands” are very rarely shown to the general public and are even less personified. You will never know that Paul, Aurelien, Vatché, Sarah, Aurore or Antoine is hiding behind the piece you are about to buy. And that’s a shame.
Drawing of the “Boa Constrictor” ring/pin in its final version. Realization by Frederic Mané. Copyright : Frederic Mané, Marie Grimaud, Felix Albert, Victor Borel, Sylvain Cahuet, Yoann L’hostelier, Marie Oberlin, Jonathan Bauché, William Amor, L’Orchestre Joaillier
“The special order, initiatives like the Orchestre Joaillier, which are the initiative of a group of craftsmen, are alternatives and another way of communicating about things that are close to our hearts, such as highlighting the know-how that is inseparable from the making of beautiful pieces of jewellery
The entire Orchestre Joaillier. Copyright : Frederic Mané, Marie Grimaud, Felix Albert, Victor Borel, Sylvain Cahuet, Yoann L’hostelier, Marie Oberlin, Jonathan Bauché, William Amor, L’Orchestre Joaillier
With this in mind, L’Orchestre Joaillier has decided to change the lines somewhat by creating a ring whose visual rights belong to all the craftsmen who worked on its design from the drawing board to the final delivery. A first and a daring act that allows these talented hands to no longer be simply executors and to obtain true recognition. A bias that has its place on Le Gemmologue where I fight to make the men and women who – through their mastery – allow the realization of pieces that you will enjoy wearing. But let’s go back to our story, because at the origin of this project, there is also a collector who is bold enough to make it happen.
The “Boa Constrictor” ring / brooch. Video and editing by Sylvain Cahuet. Copyright : Frederic Mané, Marie Grimaud, Felix Albert, Victor Borel, Sylvain Cahuet, Yoann L’hostelier, Marie Oberlin, Jonathan Bauché, William Amor, L’Orchestre Joaillier
The ring that served to create and reveal the Orchestre Joaillier is called “Boa Constrictor” and represents a snake around a flower. The creation of this entirely modular piece responds to a rather particular request: to transform an old engagement jewel and thus create a “wedding jewel” to symbolize this particularly important turning point in her life. Transformable into a brooch, this piece is made of platinum, white gold, yellow gold, rose gold and black rhodium-plated gold. There is also an emerald, rubies, sapphires, aquamarines, white and black diamonds. Finally, some of the petals are enamelled using the Grand Feu technique. As you can see, this could not be done by a single person and several experienced craftsmen were needed to complete this complex project. So who are these mysterious hands?
Enamelling of the petals by Marie Oberlin. Copyright : Frederic Mané, Marie Grimaud, Felix Albert, Victor Borel, Sylvain Cahuet, Yoann L’hostelier, Marie Oberlin, Jonathan Bauché, William Amor, L’Orchestre Joaillier
Frédéric Mané is the man behind the project’s transformation into a drawing. A designer of fine jewellery and objects, he has been working for over fifteen years with the great names of Place Vendôme and also with some famous manufacturers such as Émaux de Longwy. To project the design in 3D, the talent of Victor Borel was needed, a computer graphic designer who graduated from the École Boulle and the rue du Louvre, and who is also based on the Place. For the manufacturing process, a workshop with a great deal of creativity was needed, and it was therefore natural that the Atelier Miix worked on this. Marie Grimaud and Felix Albert were in charge of the metal part once the casting was done. The setting was entrusted to Jonathan Bauché, who has been practising his art for about ten years. For the enamel, we had to rely on the talent of Marie Oberlin, enameller at the Monnaie de Paris and also a teacher at the École des Arts Joailliers. The staging of this first creation found its reality thanks to the plastic artist William Amor, resident at the Ateliers de Paris and known for his work with flowers using recycled materials. Finally, it was necessary to film and photograph. It was the young video artist Sylvain Cahuet and the photographer Yoann L’hostelier who were able to capture all the stages of work that led to the creation of this rather impressive jewel.
Work on the snake by the Atelier Miix and the jewellers Marie Grimaud and Felix Albert. Copyright : Frederic Mané, Marie Grimaud, Felix Albert, Victor Borel, Sylvain Cahuet, Yoann L’hostelier, Marie Oberlin, Jonathan Bauché, William Amor, L’Orchestre Joaillier
Although the various workshops and craftsmen mentioned in this article have already worked together from time to time, this ring represents a first collective piece with the involvement of each one in his or her specific field of expertise.
“If you want a truly beautiful piece of jewellery, you need different skills and we all need each other. It was exciting to challenge each other on a collective piece. Suddenly, you are no longer alone with subcontractors but you work as a team without being in the same workshop. At one point, you feel an incredible energy in allowing everyone to express themselves in the realisation of their manufacturing steps. “
Marie Grimaud – Atelier Mix
Positioning of the central emerald before setting by Jonathan Bauché. Copyright: Frederic Mané, Marie Grimaud, Felix Albert, Victor Borel, Sylvain Cahuet, Yoann L’hostelier, Marie Oberlin, Jonathan Bauché, William Amor, L’Orchestre Joaillier
But before developing very specific technical skills, they had to learn this trade and enter it, often through a small door. They all have different reasons and particular experiences, but each time the word “passion” has come up in the mouths of the project’s participants. “Jewellery allows us to symbolise an event and often to make a dream come true,” explains Frédéric Mané, whose childhood in his parents’ toy shop can be seen in each of his projects. “Jewellery reveals the childlike side of us all, it awakens emotions in all of us” adds Marie Grimaud. Getting into jewellery is also – sometimes – by chance. “Jewellery is not the first profession you think of. Forme, it was thanks to my mother who understood my passion for sculpture and Lego™” adds the graphic designer of the Victor Borel project.
William Amor works on the flowers that will accompany Yoann L’hostelier’s final shots. Copyright : Frederic Mané, Marie Grimaud, Felix Albert, Victor Borel, Sylvain Cahuet, Yoann L’hostelier, Marie Oberlin, Jonathan Bauché, William Amor, L’Orchestre Joaillier
From the technical side to the realization, we had to talk about the possible technical problems encountered in the creation of this piece. But in the state of mind that accompanied the creation of this jewel, they were finally very few. There is a reason for this: listening to and respecting each other’s proposals so that things move forward in the most logical way possible. “We had to take everyone’s opinion into account. Because a person always brings something extra to the table, which must be taken into account.When you don’t take into account the opinions of the people involved, the piece is not beautiful and everyone blames each other, that’s not how we want to work,” explains Frédéric Mané. Finally, the technique sometimes even merges with the history of the piece and its genesis. “Here, what was exciting was to have the history of the piece. When you work in workshops, the story often takes a back seat and you just have an object to deliver. Here, we had a story to create together. I had to create the face of the snake, give it its personality. I made precise proposals on the setting of the animal and the flower. It wasreally great to be heard in my experience as a crimper,” adds Jonathan Bauché, who was trained by Nicolas Flamel.
Work on the updates by Atelier Miix and jewellers Marie Grimaud and Felix Albert. Copyright: Frederic Mané, Marie Grimaud, Felix Albert, Victor Borel, Sylvain Cahuet, Yoann L’hostelier, Marie Oberlin, Jonathan Bauché, William Amor, L’Orchestre Joaillier
“In the end, the setting was a bit accidental. I trained as a jeweller but after my BMA I wanted to see what the job was like. And I was caught in my own trap, I preferred setting. It reminded me of my childhood when I collected stones. And then, after my studies, I entered an excellent workshop. With this job, I had both: metal, a little, and stones, a lot!
Jonathan Bauché
Setting of the diamonds by Jonathan Bauché. Copyright: Frederic Mané, Marie Grimaud, Felix Albert, Victor Borel, Sylvain Cahuet, Yoann L’hostelier, Marie Oberlin, Jonathan Bauché, William Amor, L’Orchestre Joaillier
In the end, this piece of high jewellery – whose collective production is fully assumed – turns out to be rather amazing and remarkable in its artistic and technical approach. Of course, the photography and video work brings a different reality to this jewel. It adds an extra life by giving a physical trace. “A piece of jewellery cannot be filmed like anything else. Filming something very small requires skill in lighting, for example.You have to do a lot of tests to find the right angle and thus get the right shot that will sublimate the object,” argues Sylvain Cahuet, who has documented the entire birth of the “Boa Constrictor”.
The “Boa Constrictor” ring and its floral universe. Work on the snake by the Atelier Mix and the jewellers Marie Grimaud and Felix Albert. The Atelier Mix is working on the snake. Copyright : Frederic Mané, Marie Grimaud, Felix Albert, Victor Borel, Sylvain Cahuet, Yoann L’hostelier, Marie Oberlin, Jonathan Bauché, William Amor, L’Orchestre Joaillier
Jewellery should always be made in this way, using the amount of expertise that is available in our industry. One day, perhaps, the craftsmen will come out of the shadows completely. This is a wish increasingly expressed by the younger generation. The Orchestre Joaillier opens up a possible option for many designers and houses in a very beautiful way. We hope to see this movement grow because the “hands” of this profession amply deserve it and the concert has only just begun!
See you soon!