Bright shine that may be short lived - Financial Times

FINANCIALTIMES SATURDAYSEPTEMBER 11 2010 ★ 9
which had become a bit of a
ghetto. Jewellers were
becoming disconnected
from fashion, art, design
and everything else. By
being outside our own environment,
we try to associate
jewellery with other
areas of creativity.”
Sandrine de Laage, vicepresident
of design at Harry
Winston, emphasises the
social aspect of the Biennale.
“Increasingly, the relationship
that we have with
our clients is as important
as the product itself. More
and more client relationships
are about one-to-one
communication and the
Biennale is a beautiful way
to meet our clients.”
Many companies consider
it one of the most important
high jewellery events on
the calendar.
Chanel, which started
producing high jewellery in
1993, is keen to emphasise
the historical links between
its jewellery and the past.
Each collection is
inspired by Gabrielle
Chanel’s 1932 “Bijoux en
Diamants” exhibition and
this year replicas of the
original pieces will be on
show. “We try to respect
the mood of the Biennale,”
says Benjamin Comar,
international director for
fine jewellery at Chanel.
For others, it is about
being seen among their
peers. Hamdi Chatti is vicepresident
of jewellery and
watches at Louis Vuitton
and the house presented its
first high jewellery collection
only last year.
Cartier has been present
at the Biennale since its
start. Pierre Rainero, image,
style and heritage director
for the house, says: “The
reasons we participated in
the very first Biennale exhibition
were no doubt very
similar to those explaining
our participation today.
“It is the most globally
‘When a wife wants
to choose between
a painting, furniture
or a jewel, you can
see where it’s
going to end’
recognised platform on
which to introduce our
international clients to a
unique body of work and in
such a remarkable venue in
one of the most elegant cities
in the world.”
Strategically, the Biennale
is good for the jewellery
industry, but how does
it fit in with the art and
antiques? The jewellery is
not antique, so is it art?
Not surprisingly, most of
the jewellers are keen to
point out the links between
their handmade creations
and the world of canvases
and oil paint.
“Cartier has always
approached jewellery and
precious objects in the same
creative spirit,” says Mr
Rainero.
“The sharing of the culmination
of two years’ work
by a team of just five
designers and 40 craftsmen
fills us with great pride
and, on this auspicious platform,
endows such work
with an integrity I believe
can only be described as
fine art at its very purest.”
But not everyone is
happy about the presence of
jewellers at the show.
Jacques Perrin, a member
of both the executive committee
at Syndicat National
des Antiquaires and of the
Biennale des Antiquaires
says: “Some people say to
me ‘why do you invite jewellers
such as Harry Winston
to the Biennale?’
Because they pay for their
booths is my reply. They
too have rich customers
and they sell luxury things.
“The art market is small
and the exhibition costs a
lot and it is difficult to get
100 very good exhibitors.
We need jewellers.”
That jewellery should be
cheek by jowl with other
art forms is nothing new.
Van Cleef & Arpels’ Mr Bos
says that, historically, jewellery
played a big role in
ShoppingforChanel,whichiskeentoemphasiselinksbetweenitsjewelleryandthepast
the world of decorative arts
and very much present at
the big international fairs
in European capitals such
as the Exposition Universelle
of 1900 for which
the Grand Palais was built.
“After the second world
war,” he explains, “jewellery
declined along with
other decorative arts. The
emphasis moved towards
industrial design, which
was far from the refinement
and detail associated with
jewellery.
“And so jewellery lost the
connection to other
domains and became isolated.
Figurative jewellery
was lost and the 1980s and
1990s became a dormant
period in which jewels were
all about big precious
stones, not so much about
the creative effort; the
craftsmanship didn’t matter
too much. Over the past
decade, however, it has
made a comeback.”
If we are with Mr Bos,
then jewellery is reclaiming
its rightful place in the
hierarchy of art forms, but
there is one underlying niggle
about the set-up.
“Some antique dealers are
against the jewellery,” says
Mr Perrin of the Biennale
committee. “They say:
‘When a wife wants to make
a choice between a painting,
a piece of furniture or a
jewel, you can see where it
is going to end’.”
And which would you
rather swagger down the
Champs Elysée with: a cascade
of emeralds, opals and
pearls round your neck or a
Louis XVI commode?
Watches&Jewellery
Hobnobbing
with the
cognoscenti
Strategy
You have to be
serious to secure a
place at the fair,
writes Avril Groom
As chief executive of the
only US jewellery house at
the 25th Paris Biennale,
Harry Winston’s Frédéric
de Narp is proud of his company’s
achievement.
“We have been exhibiting
here since 1974 – an honour
for a company only founded
in 1932 and which has all its
craftwork done in New
York, while most others
here are based round the
Place Vendôme,” he says.
The house has its own
niche in the world of superhigh
jewellery, with a reputation
for obtaining the
largest, rarest diamonds.
“Harry Winston spent 30
years building up the biggest
gem collection after
the British royal family. We
are happy to be accepted
alongside the great Parisian
jewellery houses at this
very important event.”
These greats endorse his
view of the Biennale’s significance.
Bernard Fornas,
CEO of Cartier, which has
been involved since the
beginning, says unequivocally:
“No other fair is as
prestigious. It has always
shown the most exceptional
objects, attracting connoisseurs
from across the globe,
and because it is open to
the public, those not familiar
with Cartier can see our
creative power and perhaps
become new clients.”
The house has been working
on its 64 unique pieces,
including precious objects
as well as jewellery, almost
since the last Biennale,
with a team of five designers
and 40 craftsmen, and
will entertain a number of
international clients during
the fair.
It will be rivalled by the
“Voyages Extraordinaires”
collection from Van Cleef &
Arpels, which has been
showing at the Biennale for
10 years and whose CEO,
Stanislas de Quercize says:
“We love the opportunity to
show that high jewellery is
applied art, to exhibit
alongside Brancusis and
Picassos. The magnificent
Grand Palais is an extra
attraction to our clients.”
There is another reason
why the Biennale, in this
favoured setting, has
become the essential place
to exhibit.
“The number of individuals
with liquid assets of
more than $30m grew by 21
per cent last year and a significant
proportion of them
will be here,” says Mr de
Narp.
“We don’t necessarily
expect to sell here – jewellery
buying at this level is a
protracted process and 80
per cent of our sales in
Paris come from bespoke
pieces – but it is the best
place to make contact with
both existing and new clients,
given that we only
have 20 salons worldwide. A
number make private
appointments at our salon
here to follow up.”
Not all the Parisian
greats show at the Biennale.
Seven jewellery
houses, up one from 2008,
have their own area,
expanded from last time
when it was the most
crowded part of the fair.
Grandes dames Cartier
and Van Cleef & Arpels rub
shoulders with luxury fashion
brands Chanel (jewellery
since 1932 but only
revived in 1993 with unique
pieces added in 2003), Dior
(jewellery since 1999) and,
for the first time this year,
Louis Vuitton, better
known as a luggage maker.
Broadening its remit into
areas which already
included high fashion and
fine watches, Vuitton produced
its spectacular first
high jewellery collection
last year, designed by
Lorenz Bäumer who already
had a strong creative reputation.
His new collection of
more than 70 pieces, shown
in a lavishly-designed booth
that will rival only Van
Cleef & Arpels’ for creative
expression, announces even
more clearly Vuitton’s serious
intent, as does the company’s
decision to open a
dedicated jewellery boutique
on Place Vendôme
next year.
“The Biennale is about
showcasing a brand’s status
and prowess and it’s a great
privilege to be one of only
seven jewellers,” says jewellery
vice president Hamdi
Chatti. “We applied as part
of a long-term strategy – we
needed to know we had
enough pieces to show, and
the money to do it. We
intend to show our clients
how different our pieces are
and how well made, by the
best craftsmen here in
Paris.”
That application is a
secretive process. Houses
are invited to apply by the
Syndicat National des Antiquaires
and chosen, according
to Hervé Aaronts, its
chairman, “by a combination
of their demand and
our choice”.
He believes that Vuitton’s
jewellery under Mr Bäumer
“is as serious as Chanel has
proved to be and, more
recently, Dior under Victoire
de Castellane. We
have both the space and a
‘We love to show
that high jewellery
is applied art, to
exhibit alongside
Brancusis and
Picassos’
certain clientele, and the
mix of brands creates a
vibrant section”.
They had no problem filling
the space, with Swiss
house Piaget occupying the
seventh slot. “We thought
hard about that because it
is primarily a watch
brand”, says Mr Aaron.
“But they have a very serious
high jewellery studio so
it’s appropriate.” The selection
process, he says, is
essentially informal –
though, as de Quercize
points out: “We have to
show that our work is
unique and we are worthy
of our place.” A Chanel
spokesman stresses the
importance of a link with
art – “Gabrielle Chanel was
an arts patron and artists
still design jewellery pieces
for us, which helped validate
us.”
With lavish client entertainment
and breathtakingly
designed booths, the
jewellery Biennale is
becoming competitive. But
not all the obvious suspects
are present.
Venerable Paris names
such as Chaumet and
Boucheron have not
applied. While Boucheron’s
CEO Jean Christophe Bedos
appreciates its role in
increasing international
customer curiosity, he does
not feel a presence there
would enhance the brand.
“We continuously welcome
clients to our headquarters
and our staff frequently
travel to them,” he
says.
“We are a confidential
and intimate house and we
prefer to entertain privately,
on a one-to-one
basis.”
Fans:Cartier’sBernardFornas(left)andFredericdeNarp