Mar

4

I Castellane a Spell on You

Filed Under New Obsession 

Diorette

My fascination with colourful enamel bauble is not new. However, my interest in seeing the way enamel jewelry is made today, is. Luckily I have two illustrious resources, behind the career of one particular artist, to consult.

Victoire de Castellane was with Chanel for 14 years before moving onto her current post as Creative Director of Fine Jewelry at Dior. From a lineage of aristocrats, Victoire was exposed to many people and places at a young age, when she first discovered her love of jewelry–her grandmother’s, Sylvia Hennessy, pieces–and melted her catechism medallions to create charms. By 11-years old, Victoire was sending her designs to be made at ateliers.

I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the ateliers used, at least while at Chanel, was the famous Desrues; now, part of Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel “satellites.” Established in 1929, Georges Desrues transformed the company into a highly-specialized outfit for costume jewelry and buttons for fashion designers, by way of introducing metalsmithing techniques such as “engraving, polishing, and gilding.” In the past, Desrues’s clients include, Lanvin, YSL and Dior. However, the majority of the work done now appears to be predominantly for Chanel.

Visit the Desrues website and be sure not to skip the intro. A short clip shows a quick overview of the making of several different pieces. The Crafts and Products pages should be viewed in their entirety. Historical techniques within modern facilities somehow perfectly unite artisanship and production while keeping tradition intact.

Another dazzling film can be seen at the Dior Joaillerie website. The new “Milly Carnivora” line, as part of the Collections, demonstrates the start and end of a floral ring; from sketch on paper, to finished product on hand. Although the labour-intensive process is condensed to a few minutes, the “work” involved in making jewelry is not lost. If anything, it may contribute to the whole investment, and of course, price, of such spectacular items.

When at the Dior Joaillerie website, resist viewing other promotional shorts of past collections. I dare you! Discover which lines reflect a refined Victoire, and others which may have taken the sense of play, the designer is well known for, as elementary.

Then revisit Desrues. The similarities, or at least influence of Victoire’s artistic direction, at Chanel, at Dior, seem to coincide. Where Chanel is more logo driven, Dior is light-hearted. However, size is consistent–often big–and a mix of colours, necessary. Ironically, two of my many requirements when offers of jewelry abound. Not frequent enough I may add!

No matter. I’m not a gold digger; just a Google one. Watching Victoire’s creativity–simultaneously, past, present, and future–provides enough sparkle to spellbind and satisfy all the time.

IMAGE | Diorette Joaillerie | Magazine clipping. Which one, I can’t remember. (Maybe Vogue?) It was at least a year ago, when I needed to just look at these little-worlds-potentially-resting-on-fingers daily. Victoire’s designs might be too much for some (blame the knockoff), but I adore the finesse of her pieces. Also, when is too much, too much? Another blog post in the making!

Comments

One Response to “I Castellane a Spell on You”

  1. JM on March 4th, 2009 8:01 pm

    At the risk of turning into Zsa Zsa Gabor, too much is rarely enough!

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