Juliet Weir-de La Rochefoucauld on the original and striking jewellery pieces featured in her latest publication:
It is difficult to choose a favorite piece from all the jewels illustrated in my new book, 21st-Century Jewellery Designers: An Inspired Style. Wearing a piece of jewellery is so dependent on the effect you wish to create or one’s mood.
I suppose for sheer originality I would choose the Salamander catching a winged insect by Lydia Courteille. The Mexican opals that she uses married with orange sapphires and mandarin garnets, are stunning for their colour and iridescence.
For ultimate elegance Michelle Ong’s ‘Belle Epoque’ necklace is a stunning use of old jade hoops, her versatility helps her imagine a new use for the jade bangle at the centre which in turn is the backbone for the rest of the necklace.
Wallace Chan’s Snake Trilogy ring sums up many of the interesting aspects in my book with its use of new materials such as different coloured titanium; the unusual settings accorded to the varying cuts of the fancy coloured diamonds and the step-cut emerald and his use of other gemstones to emphasize contrast be it by using their colour or their cuts which all contribute to the playfulness of the ring’s design.
21st-Century Jewellery Designers: An Inspired Style by Juliet Weir-de La Rochefoucauld is published by Antique Collectors’ Club and will be released in October 2013.