In Conversation at GemGenève: What Constitutes Exceptional Design?

April 3, 2023

2 min read

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.

The panel discuss 'What Makes Exceptional Design?' at GemGenève in November 2022

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?

David Roux-Fouillet shares his thoughts on exceptional design at GemGenève in November 2022

Katerina Perez shares the stage with Cartier specialist Olivier Bachet at GemGenève in November 2022

Alix Dumas, the founder of Maison Alix Dumas, was part of the panel at GemGenève in November 2022

Olivier Bachet and Alix Dumas shared their own interpretations of exceptional design on stage at GemGenève in November 2022

Katerina Perez was joined by Olivier Bachet, Alix Dumas and jewellery historian, author and journalist, Vivienne Becker, at GemGenève in November 2022

WORDS

Katerina Perez With more than 12 years’ experience in the jewellery sector, Katerina Perez’s expert knowledge spans everything from retail sales and management to content creation, including brand building, jewellery writing and styling. Born and raised in St Petersburg, Katerina’s favourite hobby as a child was playing with the treasures in her grandmother's jewellery box, inspiring a lifelong love of jewellery from a very early age. She spent five years in St Petersburg University of Culture and Arts studying not journalism but business studies and languages, and her writing skills have developed as her passion for her favourite subject – jewellery – has grown. This is why her writing comes straight from the heart rather than the pages of a book. Daughter of an entrepreneur mother, Katerina exchanged her retail management job for jewellery writing in 2013 and hasn’t looked back since.

BRANDS:

GemGenève Alix Dumas

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