STYLE & BEAUTY BEHIND THE SCENES Clockwise from top left: BOODLES white-gold Raindrop earrings set with cabochon-cut moonstones, pink opals and diamonds DAMIANI white-gold Spicchi Luna bracelet set with diamonds BOUCHERON white-gold Dôme Graphique ring set with diamonds and rock crystal DE GRISOGONO pink-gold Ventaglio earrings set with amethysts and pink sapphires ADLER pink-gold ring set with pink sapphires and diamonds VAN CLEEF & ARPELS white-gold Caresse d‘Eole Clip set with sapphires and diamonds twinkle like sunlight on snow crystals. “It’s like a carpet of small and large diamonds, none alike, seemingly casual,” says Alessio Guidelli of Vhernier (vhernier.it), which uses it for the 20th-anniversary collection of its iconic Calla style, creating a dramatic contrast with smooth, opaque materials like lapis lazuli, ebony or titanium. “But it’s far from random and depends on holes cut in the gold base, exactly the size for each diamond.” The pavé is almost smooth, each stone held by two tiny prongs. Now, Guidelli says, “we have gone smoother with the Eyeliner technique, where instead of prongs each stone has a minuscule rim of gold, coloured to match the material, which makes the diamonds extra-visible, jumping with life. The precision of this process takes many hours.” Not, perhaps, so many hours as the most legendary setting of all, the mystery. Here absolutely no metal appears – it’s all underneath in the form of tiny gold rails on to which square-cut stones are threaded via minute grooves, creating a velvet-smooth mosaic of classic coloured gems, unparalleled in depth and richness. The technique was patented in 1933 by Van Cleef & Arpels (vancleefarpels.com), where even today only two lapidaries are entrusted with cutting the tiny stones to micron-level accuracy, before handing them to highly skilled jewellers who create a grid of gems where the smallest 54 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM
inaccuracy can jeopardise the whole piece. For the first time Van Cleef has applied the technique to diamonds in its latest collection. Other houses such as Cartier (cartier. co.uk) and Boucheron (boucheron.com) occasionally use their own versions. With some stones, the mystery’s simpler relation, the channel setting, can make them stand out: angular gems, often baguettes or princess cuts, are set between two metal sides that hold the stones in place. The setting protects the stones from wear, is smooth and modernlooking – it dates to the 1980s – and can make a virtuoso piece where the diamond cuts vary, as used by Adler (adler.ch), Graff (graffdiamonds.com) and De Beers (debeers.com). Setting the stones closely and smoothly is difficult and time-consuming, making this an expensive mounting. More straightforward is the bezel setting, one of the most ancient, where a normally round stone is set in a ring of metal gently curved over the gem’s edge to both hold and protect it. “It has a cleanness and purity that, despite its long history, give a modern aesthetic,” says Rebecca Hawkins, head of design at Boodles (boodles. com), who often uses it to accentuate stones, as in the Raindance collection. “It’s good if stones are fragile or in a vulnerable position, and an excellent choice for everyday wear. You need to let light in, often with a decorative cut-out on the back of the cup shape that holds it.” The bezel is also integral to Asian jewellery, where Jaipur brands such as Amrapali (amrapalijewels.com) and Gyan (gyanjaipur.com) add a fine gold-foil layer between stone and gold frame for richness. Sometimes a bezel forms protection for the top stone in the extraordinary setting known as inlay, where a feature gem is set into a matrix, often of rock crystal or rose quartz. Geneva-based brand Boghossian (boghossianjewels.com) is a master of the technique also used by Boucheron and Lebanese designer Noor Fares (noorfares.com). Boghossian also uses the kissing stones setting, where gems are set on top of each other, just touching. “Inlay is an ancient technique that we have revived, while ‘kissing’ is its natural evolution,” says CEO Albert Boghossian. “Both demand exceptional knowhow, precision and perfect stones and have taken us years to develop. Stones for inlay have to be carved and shaped to fit perfectly, while kissing requires a perfect stone to hold the upper one, to be solid with very little metal obscuring them. Both must be harmonious yet provide contrast and brilliance.” It is contrast that’s the focus of the most unusual setting to stir up the jewellery world: the spiky yet subtle point of the reverse setting – literally turning a stone on its back – is finding favour, especially those who use black diamonds. Brazilian designer Ara Vartanian (aravartanian.com) started using the reverse setting for women’s items and finds men love them too, ARA VARTANIAN yellow-gold bracelet set with black, smoky and white diamonds while Annoushka Ducas (annoushka.com) loves them to give texture to charms – everything from hedgehogs to blackberries. Meanwhile Tiffany & Co (tiffany.com) places emphasis on the point with its unique Tiffany Setting, designed to make the absolute best of special stones. From the top it looks like a conventional solitaire with claws and a fine border of pavé. From the side you see the stone is raised on a Y-shaped shank held in a delicate pavé frame that both traces the pointed base of the stone and allows maximum light to enter and blaze out from the top. It is built to the individual proportions of each stone and allows it to shine – the latest take on the setting’s age-old purpose and one of the few that allows everyone to see just how magnificent an unusual setting can be. CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM 55
