SELL YOUR JEWELRY
58F magazine
In Search of the Fifth Element
Like Luc Besson's cult film, some jewelers-designers are inspired by elements of our world to imagine jewels in harmony with nature. Let's go to the discovery of three creators and their universe in search of meaning.
Nathalie Dmitrovic: at the heart of an intergalactic journey
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This designer, based in Marseille, offers jewelry with sculptural shapes and studded with small craters evoking different planets. “I have always been fascinated by the Moon with its light and its mysterious craters. The Moon has an incredible cyclical influence on elements of the Earth like the tides, but also on women. Her Nebula ring evokes the generous curves of femininity, associated with the Moon. The small craters create a rhythm providing a unique surface game.
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Before discovering the art of jewellery, Nathalie Dmitrovic was a marble sculptor for 10 years. Today, she approaches this discipline in a very personal way by creating only rings-sculptures and by working the material in an instinctive way. "On my La Scintillante ring, I randomly dig small bubbles or craters to lighten the shapes like breathing." Nathalie Dmitrovic likes to work with gold, silver or silver platinum, but also bronze, reminding her of her work as a sculptor, because she likes to tame the material.
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For the Leaf ring, she chose bronze giving a soft sensual patina, associated with the roundness of Tahitian cultured pearls. Always curious, she has recently explored titanium to create pieces with unique shapes. Her Enlace-moi ring features a futuristic shape evoking sprawling arms. The metallic blue titanium is studded with blue diamonds. Luc Besson is not very far: evoking the blue diva or the final scene of Mila Jovovich embracing in a spaceship, the hero Bruce Willis!
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Laurence Oppermann: from earth to sky
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From her workshop, located upstairs in Lyon, Laurence Oppermann sows seeds of happiness. This is the name she chose for her personal ring when her son was born. A small bell is attached to a simple ring while containing a precious nugget of gold. The designer declined this model as a Lovepépite ring in silver or gold to bring luck to people who wear it like a precious little charm. Laurence Oppermann also captures earthly poetry with her Première Rosée ring. Created during an exhibition on the theme of the rainbow, the ring is adorned like fine droplets with multiple fine stones ranging from citrine yellow to bright orange spessartite garnets and mysterious amethysts.
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The Infini ring, one of its best sellers, evokes space like a breadcrumb trail surrounded around the finger. “I make this piece from a 45cm gold thread, wound by hand. Each piece is unique because the gesture is random and we cannot see the beginning or the end of the thread like a spool ”, explains the designer. The ring is adorned with a diamond in line with the purity of noble materials. Generally speaking, Laurence Oppermann mainly works with metal. The stones are there just to bring a burst of light or a magical spark.
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“I am fascinated by molten matter. I use ancestral techniques like with the Mine d'Or collection forging a shell in silver which is then worked on the inside with gold leaf. “This operation is very delicate using urination to make the gold leaf adhere, creating a real alchemy between the two precious metals. The Intime Calice rings, forged and hammered in silver or pink gold, are adorned with black diamonds and take us on an encounter with the divine world.
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Anaïs Rheiner: from fire to water source of life
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From her pretty shop in Saint-Germain-des-Près, Anaïs Rheiner remembers above all her childhood in Africa. His Swiss geologist father was called to Zimbabwe to explore gold mines. From his indelible memories was born the Rivière de Diamants collection which, far from the diamond falls of Hollywood, offers delicate jewellery. “In Zimbabwe, artisanal miners sort gold by the side of a river with a pan that looks like a Chinese hat.
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The water through sand and pebbles takes winding paths that I evoke through my gold threads, adorned with small diamonds reminiscent of the brilliance of water ”. The heat of the sun is also omnipresent in Africa, but it is above all the fire and the scorched earth technique, to make the land fertile, that marked Anaïs Rheiner. “It is also the fire that I use to work my wax to create the matrix of my jewelry. With tools, I create furrows and I also use wooden pieces that I brought back from Africa to create textures.
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And when I work with cast iron, I make indentations by heating the metal with a blowtorch”. This work of the irregular material brings a real sensitivity to the jewel worked on the instinct and giving life to the jewel. Let's take the height with its collections of Etoile Filante and Etincelles d'Amour wedding bands evoking the incredible starry skies in Africa. Connected to gold threads, the diamonds sparkle like so many stars that can be admired from the cradle of humanity.
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Article written by Kyra Brenzinger - Editor-in-chief.
Cover photo: La Nébuleuse ring - Nathalie Dmitrovic
Photo 1: Nathalie Dmitrovic
Photo 2: La Scintillante ring - Nathalie Dmitrovic
Photo 3: Leaf Ring - Nathalie Dmitrovic
Photo 4: Laurence Oppermann
Photo 5: Infinity Ring - Laurence Oppermann
Photo 6: Intimate Chalice Ring - Laurence Oppermann
Photo 7: Anaïs Rheiner
Photo 8: Diamond River Ring - Anaïs Rheiner
Photo 9: Alliance Etoile Shooting - Anaïs Rheiner