Tiffany & Co.’s artistic director Nathalie Verdeille talks about how her second haute joaillerie collection for the brand was inspired by famed Tiffany designer Jean Schlumberger in an interview with Prestige Singapore in Hong Kong.
Tiffany & Co. has set extreme standards in its latest Haute Joaillerie collections: Last year, the New York-based house took its fans to the depths of the ocean with the sea-inspired collection Blue Book 2023: Out of the Blue. This year, Tiffany is looking to the sky with its newest and largest Haute Joaillerie collection to date, Blue Book 2024: Tiffany Céleste. Tiffany Céleste consists of 157 stunning pieces of jewelry and is inspired by the cosmos and the constellations.
What both collections have in common, besides the stunning craftsmanship and equally stunning gemstones, is that they were inspired by the creations and sketches of the famous Tiffany designer Jean Schlumberger. Schlumberger worked with Tiffany from the 1950s to the 1970s, was the brand’s first named designer and remains one of the most famous today. In June in Hong Kong for the summer presentation of Tiffany Céleste, Prestige Singapore got a rare introduction to the new creations from Nathalie Verdeille, Tiffany’s Chief Artistic Director for Jewelry and Fine Jewelry.
Since joining the company in 2021 – after LVMH acquired Tiffany – the French industry veteran, who most recently served as creative director at Cartier and Chaumet, has used Schlumberger as a focal point. Verdeille, a statuesque blonde who appears casually elegant in a black pantsuit at the media presentation on Hong Kong’s Sky100 observation deck, says: “I really like what Schlumberger did. He had a lot of design freedom, which is actually quite unusual for other jewelry companies. I love the themes he used because they could be super abstract and modern and at the same time really figurative and traditional.”
Looking to the sky
When looking at the Céleste creations on display, one can clearly see the qualities that Verdeille attributes to Schlumberger. The collection is divided into six chapters: Wing, Arrow, Constellation, Iconic Star, Ray of Light and Apollo. Each chapter reveals Verdeille’s reinterpretations of Schlumberger’s interpretations of celestial bodies, constellations and mythologies.
The highlight of the collection is a necklace from the Wings chapter. The Wings necklace is an intricate creation made up of individual, articulated elements reminiscent of feathers. It is inspired by Schlumberger’s wing silhouettes and the mythical flying horse Pegasus.
It is also Verdeille’s favorite piece in the collection. Smiling, she explains: “For me, it’s a really good synthesis of Schlumberger style and Tiffany savoir-faire. What I love about the Wings necklace and the other pieces in the set is how we played with the diamonds. We experimented with different cuts – we have triangle, oval, radiant, brilliant and baguette cuts and they all have different luminosities.”
The variety of artfully cut diamonds not only gives the piece a kaleidoscopic sparkle, but also lends it an eclectic yet sophisticated dynamic. This quality is further enhanced by another novel treatment called Serti Plume (“feather setting” in French), where tiny notches on the edges of each platinum feather give it a touch of lightness and realism. Verdeille explains: “Using an engraving tool that mimics the flowing branches of a feather, the setter has delicately and artfully drawn the engraved lines. These subtle details also serve as a setting for the round brilliant-cut diamonds, giving the piece a naturalistic look.”
While large center stones sometimes overshadow high-end jewelry designs, the intricate detailing and balanced design of the Wings necklace ensure that the impressive center diamond beautifully complements the other elements without drawing attention. That’s quite a design feat considering this particular example is a D-color oval diamond with a flawless interior and weighs more than 20 carats.
Rock solid
In fact, Tiffany has been making headlines recently with the acquisition of some pretty stunning stones, continuing a tradition that began in 1877 when its founder, Charles Lewis Tiffany, purchased a 287.42-carat yellow rough diamond that was expertly cut into the famous 128.54-carat Tiffany Diamond. Recent notable acquisitions include 35 rare pink diamonds from the now-closed Argyle Diamond Mine in Western Australia, as well as the Tiffany Muzo Emerald, an emerald weighing more than 10 carats that boasts exceptional clarity and color.
For Verdeille, these natural beauties dictate the design of the finished pieces. She says, “In many cases, the gemstone sets we acquire dictate the design, rather than the design dictating the gemstones used.”
One chapter of Tiffany Céleste inspired in this way is Ray of Light, which includes pieces that evoke radiant rays of sunlight and were inspired by archival brooches from Jean Schlumberger by Tiffany. Verdeille shares, “We were fortunate to source red and pink spinels that work exceptionally well together. We knew they would be the ideal gemstones to illustrate the concept of rays of sunlight, expressed through the lens of Schlumberger’s archival designs.”
Comprising more than 10 creations, Ray of Light is an exceptionally large set with an array of well-matched red and pink spinels – a rarity. A highlight of Ray of Light is a necklace that transforms into a tiara, a style that has been missing from Tiffany’s jewelry collections for years. Verdeille says, “I think this is very modern. I love the idea that you can wear it as a necklace, but you can also easily transform it and wear it in a classic way.” Another necklace in the series, which sparkles with more than 48 carats of red spinels, a pink spinel of over four carats and diamonds, features a striking pendant that can be removed and used as a brooch.
In the “Iconic Star” chapter, gemstones once again dominated the design. Here, pieces explore the star motif and take inspiration from an archive sketch by Schlumberger. In a statement necklace, free-form aquamarines are harmoniously arranged in organic shapes so that their curves fit beautifully into each other and also create a beautiful contrast with faceted blue zircons as well as star-shaped elements with mother-of-pearl inlays.
Transatlantic Passage
Given all the tiny details, the different settings and the transformability of Tiffany Céleste, it may be surprising that the biggest challenge in realizing this jewelry collection actually lies in the combined use of the precious metals platinum and yellow gold.
Verdeille says: “We use platinum and yellow gold because it is a trademark of the brand and of Schlumberger. White gold was developed in France to make jewelry lighter, but historically platinum was used. With white gold, you add rhodium to bring out the white color, but the color of platinum is pure. But when you solder these two metals together, their melting point is not the same – it is higher for platinum. So it is very complex to work these two types of metal together. You really have to know something about high-quality jewelry and how to handle the temperature. Only a few workshops in Paris and New York can do that.”
From creations to abstract concepts and even in his preferred metal blend, Schlumberger’s influence is still clearly felt more than four decades later. As the creative force behind iconic and collectible designs like Bird on a Rock, it’s no surprise that Schlumberger is a key guiding light for Verdeille. By tapping into the vast archives – including actual designs as well as countless rough sketches – of this prolific forerunner, she aims to “continue and expand the House’s traditions and codes.”
At the same time, Verdeille has put her own spin on this heritage design language, adding even more subtlety and detail to pieces that focus on “agility and sensuality.” While Schlumberger’s Bird on a Rock pieces traditionally feature a crested bird perched on a faceted colored gemstone, Verdeille reinterpreted this classic last year with her Bird on a Pearl collection featuring rare natural saltwater pearls. “For me, each pearl was like a cloud,” she says, painting quite a poetic picture.
For a French designer who has been rooted in Parisian jewelry culture for more than two decades, Tiffany was a revelation. “Before I joined the company, I didn’t know how rich Tiffany’s DNA was. I was impressed.” Her team was her greatest asset in facilitating her transatlantic journey. Verdeille says, “When I joined the company, I had to learn everything – the DNA of the house, the city, the language. My team and I work closely together every day and I enjoy writing a new chapter in Tiffany’s history with them.”
(Image: Tiffany & Co)
This article first appeared in Prestige Singapore
The information in this article is correct at the time of publication.
