Paris is for luxury

Place Vendôme, JAR and scores of talented ateliers ensure that the French capital will always be the capital of couture

It seems reasonable to assume that a world without Paris would be a world without haute joaillerie. Who would set the tone for a market of such extravagance if not the jewelers of Place Vendôme, the spiritual birthplace of jewelry branding and the finest practitioners of its art? Parisian designer Lorenz Bäumer, one of the subjects of our Designer Profile and a Place Vendôme tenant, says it best when he describes the famous square as “the open-air temple of a cult that worships beauty.” Sumptuous window displays featuring the most expensive and rarefied jewels in the world — from local favorites such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Boucheron, Chaumet, Mauboussin and Chanel — complement the square’s grand 17th century facades, giving onlookers pause for moments of reverence. The opulence doesn’t end there. The streets radiating from this enclave of luxury, in particular rue St.-Honoré, also house boutiques selling second-hand haute joaillerie as well as designs from independents like Lydia Courteille, a biochemist who discovered her love for old jewels when she herself worked for an antiques dealer.

The Paris jewelry market, like its fashion industry, can be divided between couture and ready-to-wear. Wide selections of the latter are on display at two rival department stores on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement: Printemps has created a special designer jewelry section housing about 20 different designers, and Galeries Lafayette showcases collections from prestigious brands, both French and foreign, including Hermès, Bulgari, Tiffany, Chopard, Fred and Din Van. But the heart and soul of Paris’s jewelry scene are the ateliers, both big and small, that create the gemstone art that will be remembered decades from now as the mark of 21st century jewelry design. American-in-Paris Joel Arthur Rosenthal, the closest thing this era has to a jewelry master on par with the greats of the 20th century, is world renowned for his graceful use of stones and inimitable craftsmanship and leads the pack of artists who’d like to style themselves in his likeness. There are, of course, scores of aspirants to the JAR throne. It’s no surprise that they, too, are based in Paris. Marchak, the brand founded in Kiev in 1878 by Ukrainian Joseph Marchak and relocated to Paris in the 1920s, has, after a dormant spell, revived its legacy as the Cartier of Kiev, jeweler to the czars, with the opening of a new Marchak salon in Paris in April 2005. Four years ago, Philippe Tournaire inaugurated his Place Vendôme boutique, from which he fashions literal and figurative cityscapes using a palette of multicolored sapphires, tourmalines, opals and diamonds, drawing on architectural and art history references to create astonishing works of jeweled art. Occupying the intersection between fashion and fine art are designers Delphine-Charlotte Parmentier of Chanel and Victoire de Castellane of Dior, both stylish, talented jewelers who aren’t afraid to experiment with outrageous color combinations and unexpected motifs. In the great tradition of Parisian couture, their jewels are simultaneously radical and ravishing.

Kings for queens Of all the jewelry giants located in the Place Vendôme, Cartier is king. Fit for a queen, its stately platinum necklace features a pear-cut, 63.66-carat diamond and a brilliant-cut diamond of 12.83 carats. Designed for Cartier’s 2007 Inde Mystérieuse collection, it was priced at €10 million, or $15.9 million. Considerably more affordable but equally beguiling is the Luthine opal tortoise brooch by Marchak, €14,000.