In Conversation at GemGenève: What Constitutes Exceptional Design?

Can you pinpoint exactly the combination of factors that make you stop and do a double-take when shopping for jewellery? Could you write a list? It’s incredibly difficult to do so, which is why it was a great way to kick off this GemGenève session! Vivienne said she responds to a jewel that “captures its moment in time,” whether it hails from the Art Deco period or more contemporary decades. Alix Dumas pointed to a piece by JAR as an example of the jewels she adores. In the video, you will see a swirling array of orange gemstones designed to look like an orange peel, topped with blue flowers and three-dimensional pink stamens. David Roux-Fouillet discussed Boghossian, specifically how it can reinvent the classics, such as eternity rings, into something eye-catching and new. Coincidentally, I had also chosen some pieces by Boghossian to be displayed on a nearby digital screen!

We also discussed the importance of storytelling and emotion in adding depth to a design. One audience member raised an interesting point: we can fall in love with a particular jewel but not want to wear it ourselves. As an example, she suggested the Art Nouveau jewels of Lalique. This evolved into a discussion of how tastes evolve with time and what one deems exceptional and wearable may change over a decade. Similarly, Alix Dumas noted that designers also evolve and can undergo significant changes in their creative output over the years or decades.