Hélène and Jeanne Karpov, you are recognized in the high jewelry profession as famous jewelry designers.
Twin sisters, of Russian origin, you grew up in France.
You have collaborated with prestigious houses on Place Vendôme.
Today you are opening a new chapter, the one of creating jewelry; you have launched your own brand, the brand Karpov.
What was the trigger for this project?
Like many twins, we have always dreamed of working together. However, before that, we had the desire to follow our own paths within different jewelry houses in order to develop complementary skills.
After 15 years of professional experience in Place Vendôme, we realized that it was the right time to try a new adventure and to build our shared dream.
How do you go from drawing to creating a brand and a jewelry collection?
Creating a jewelry collection was no secret to us, as we already had some experience, even if it was in the high-end jewelry segment.
So that was the «easier» part of our business.
On the other hand, creating our brand was a real challenge. There are many areas that were completely unknown to us, especially the entire strategy/business part.
We therefore stepped out of our comfort zone and it wasn’t easy every day. Fortunately, we were two to manage this aspect and support each other in difficult times. We learned a lot during these 2 years of construction, surrounded by competent people who guided us along the way.
Can you tell us about your first collection? Precious Elixirs ?
Our first collection is inspired by the perfume.
We wanted to design timeless jewelry that we could wear both day and night but with a strong creative identity.
There are therefore discreet pieces in 18K gold and other pieces with more elaborate designs featuring diamond pavé and fine stones. This latter category of jewelry is transformable and can be worn according to one’s own preferences.
Furthermore, some pieces are suitable for many occasions. Our delicate but strong-character rings can be given as a wedding gift, for example.
This collection features a total of twenty pieces; they will be unveiled throughout 2020.
What were your inspirations?
We worked on a blend of 2 universes that complement each other wonderfully: the perfume universe and the jewelry universe. We therefore mainly use simple, geometric shapes that take inspiration from both bottle shapes and stone sizes: brilliant, square, emerald, etc… We have incorporated them in various shapes so that each small bottle can be worn like a diamond!
Why is the perfume world so present?
This theme is very dear to us: we simply adore the scent.
We are both highly sensitive olfactory individuals and we would have loved it
Being «fancy» in an era. Perfume is a very French object. It is synonymous with luxury, refinement, excellence and savoir-faire. It is worn on the skin, and also defines a personality: It can be discreet or very present.
The woman who wears it chooses it carefully; the person who offers it, with love. The similarities are striking with jewelry. This theme therefore emerged as an obvious choice for us.
Which piece of jewelry best represents your brand?
All our jewelry represents our brand. They have all been «double-thought,» designed, and validated. We have thought them through in the smallest details, down to the 10th of a millimeter.
They are all feminine, delicate but with their own character. Also, it may be up to our client to define the piece that best defines the brand. For now we have only released 7 pieces out of about twenty. It will probably take a little time to get an idea.
In this creative process, do you have an anecdote to share with our readers?
Our goal is not only to offer jewelry but also to tell a story around our collections. That’s why we had a story written especially for the launch of
« Precious Elixirs ». We illustrated it ourselves and imagined exceptional perfume bottles that complement our world of fascination: high jewelry. We would dream of partnering with a major perfume house and, who knows, one day making these wonderful bottles ourselves…
Do you each have a specialty?
Since we are both creative individuals and this is the first time we are launching a brand, we wanted to build the foundation together: we chose our stones, our workshop, and our collaborators together.
But if we were to give one particular characteristic:
Hélène is the most creative. She is really comfortable with shapes and lines. She manages to extract the essence of a theme, to simplify the jewelry as much as possible to leave only the essential lines. Jeanne specializes in illustration, and the representation of the jewelry. It is she who creates the gouache paintings of our illustrations or our jewelry. She also takes care of the brand’s Instagram.
Is there a place that inspires you?
We need to see many different places to fuel our inspiration. Travel and visits to museums are very valuable to us. We loved visiting the Hermitage in Russia, the Puri Lukisan in Ubud, the Bauer Foundation in Geneva, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, the Jacquemart-André Museum in Paris, etc. And also nature in all its forms. We can spend hours contemplating the jungle and the shapes of the leaves, the shades of green, the mountains and the reflections of the sun in the snow, and the extraordinary marine garden of the Indian Ocean.
A music you listen to?
We listen to a lot of music at the office of all kinds, but if we had to mention just one, it would certainly be Russian rock of the 80s and 90s (Kino, Nogu svelo, Mumiy Troll, Nautilus Pompilus etc…).
A book you haven’t forgotten?
The Russian fairy tale book that our father used to read to us when we were little, illustrated by Ivan Bilibin. The graphics are simply magical and so typical of Russian folklore.
How do you imagine the continuation of this beautiful adventure?
We imagine her as the happiest person ever! We still have a lot of work to do on «Precious Elixirs», but we are already thinking about our next collection. We hope that our jewelry will be a success and that we can develop the brand.
And why not, offer our original gouaches for sale?
