In Conversation at GemGenève: What Constitutes Exceptional Design?

In November 2022, I returned for the second GemGenève event of the year to host a panel discussion about the principles and requirements of exceptional design. It was a lively conversation, lasting over an hour, featuring some of the people I admire and respect most in the jewellery world. Now, I am pleased to share the session recording with you and highlight the top 10 most vital contributing factors to exceptional design. Do you agree with me? Let’s take a look…

In a creative field that is so subjective and emotional, pinpointing exactly what makes one design good and another exceptional is no easy task. At GemGenève in November, I hosted a panel discussion to debate this exact topic, featuring jewellery historian and author Vivienne Becker; practising artist, designer and Acting Senior Tutor of the Jewellery & Metal MA at the Royal College of Art, David Roux-Fouillet; Director of Palais Royale and Cartier specialist, Olivier Bachet, and Alix Dumas, the founder of her eponymous jewellery business, Maison Alix Dumas.

You may remember that I also spoke at the May 2022 edition of GemGenève. This talk focused on the love and passion for jewellery that so many of us share while also touching on creativity, gemstone obsessions, instinct and emotion when purchasing jewels and much more. In this talk, six months later, we decided to shift the conversation to exceptional design. I opened the session with a surprisingly difficult question: What kind of jewellery do you like?