To discover the world of Lydia Courteille.
To begin with, it is important to know that Lydia Courteille is a creator passionate about the history of jewelry and gemstones. Moreover, her imagination allows her to create bold, unique pieces.
Also, the famous jewelry designer Lydia Courteille receives Fine Jewellery Spirit to share her passions and creations. Thus, she presents us with her fascinating universe during this warm exchange.
Lydia Courteille
What gave you the passion for jewelry?
It has to be said that I have always loved things that are feminine, such as fashion; I like to dress up.
I didn’t have a particular passion for jewelry. On the other hand, I’ve always had a passion for stones. To tell the truth, they haven’t left me since I was eight years old. I collect them; it’s a passion. Moreover, I spent a lot of time in my childhood at the mineralogy museum of the Natural History Museum. So, this passion evolved into feminine ornamentation; it was fashion that led me to jewelry.
Yellow Sapphires, Yellow Tourmalines, Green Tourmalines, Tsavorites, Peridots, Diamonds, Black Rhodium Gold.
© ejcw
Your first creation?
It all started with that beautiful Boivin pouf that I had; it was decorated like a Chesterfield sofa.
I wanted to create a ring with this pattern.
A yellow diamond set in rock crystal and diamond studs was created in 1983. A real success that also inspired a jeweler in the Place Vendôme.
Your favorite stone?
The opal and the fossils that I collected. I create jewelry with fossils, for example with ammonites or trilobites, which are the oldest known fossils; they date back to the Precambrian era.
The idea is also to create jewelry with rare materials, for example this necklace with ammonites and gold coral.
Ammonites, Coral gold, Ebony, Gold
© ejcw
Customers thus discover new materials and delight in a beautiful piece of jewelry.
Tilosite, Diamonds, Gold
© ejcw
How do you think about your creations?
I use drawing. My sketchbooks are very valuable to me. I make a first very precise sketch, then Armelle Fontaine makes very beautiful gouaches for my workshop.
© ejcw
© ejcw
A place that inspires you?
All the museums inspire me.
And a special liking for Moscow; this city has won my heart.
The Kremlin, Red Square, St. Basil...
© voyagesmalavoy
Of course, all my other trips: Peru, Mexico, the Amazon...
Anything can inspire if you know how to look. For example, for the Scarlet Empress bracelet, the inspiration comes from Catherine of Russia with the two-headed eagle, but here the eagles are looking at each other. She was German and converted to the Orthodox religion to be able to marry the Tsar. The red color represents her femme fatale side. I added the hammer and sickle instead of the sceptre and the golden sphere, a rather provocative association.
Ruby, Ruby, Onyx, Red Rhodium Gold
© ejcw
A work of art that you like?
The Gardens of Delights by Jerome Bosch.
This triptych is an intriguing work. Each part of the work contains a detail.
© Museo del Prado
A book you haven’t forgotten?
The Dali of Draeger. I saw it when I was 15 and I couldn’t afford to buy it. 30 years later I got it back.
A music you listen to?
Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev.
Tsavorites, enamel, sapphires, emeralds
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A few words about the antique jewelry, the one you like?
My first loves!
I don’t give up on antique jewelry; I still collect them.
Some of Lalique's jewelry is jewelry with a history.
But if I have to choose, it will be an Art Deco jewel, with volume and diamonds.
Diamonds, Platinum
© ejcw
Usually, it’s all about the floral, exuberantly floral designs from the 18th and 19th centuries that inspire my creations.
Art Deco, on the other hand, is an abstraction of forms; it is this abstraction that will inspire my next collection, in order to better capture it.
An unexpected request?
One day David Bennett from Sothebys came to see me. He offered to make jewelry for the Chinese market, bats that eat peaches. I made them and all my bats flew away. As you know, in China, it’s a good luck charm.
I continue to make jewelry with bats
Diamonds, Corals, Tsavorites, Rubies, Rhodium-plated Black Gold.
What would you like to achieve?
I would like to create a collection exclusively made of diamonds. Here is also a new design for a future piece of jewelry for Esprit Joaillerie
Karl Lagerfeld representing his famous cat, Choupette.
© Lydia Courteille
Thank you Lydia for this meeting in your magnificent cabinet of curiosities where each of your creations is a surprise.
Lydia Courteille
231 rue Saint-Honoré 75001 Paris
+33 1 42 61 11 71
www.lydiacourteille.com
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from Esprit Joaillerie.
