Editor’s Note
This article explores how contemporary jewellery designers are challenging traditional notions of value by incorporating innovative, sustainable materials like Cofalit—a substance made from recycled industrial by-products. It highlights a shift towards creativity and emotional resonance over conventional preciousness.
The world of jewellery, while catering to women, has historically been male-dominated. Think of nearly every heritage maison, and its founders are almost inevitably men. In France, where Place Vendôme is the spiritual heart of high jewellery, the trade has often been patrilineal. When a family-owned jewellery firm expands, leadership has traditionally passed through generations of men.
Gladly, things are different today. A survey of prestigious jewellery names reveals that many are now creatively led by women. While perhaps not as famous as their fashion counterparts, these creative directors wield significant influence. The gemstones they choose can influence wider trends and elevate the stones’ value and prestige.
Vogue reached out to six women creative directors to comment on their tenures and recent proud creations. They include maverick talents like Claire Choisne of Boucheron, who has turned one of the oldest Vendôme jewellers into a source of hyper-modern, envelope-pushing designs. From using aerogel to create feather-light high jewellery to her latest Quatre 5D Memory ring encoding the sound of waves, her imagination knows no bounds.
The list also includes stalwarts like Stéphanie Sivrière of Piaget and Lucia Silvestri of Bvlgari. Both have spent their entire careers with their brands: Sivrière for 22 years at Piaget, and Silvestri for nearly 45 at Bvlgari. Sivrière started as a jeweller before joining Piaget as a designer, eventually establishing fine and high jewellery for the originally pure watchmaking house—a notable feat in another male-dominated field, horology.
Silvestri’s career began purchasing raw materials in the 1980s under Paolo and Nicola Bulgari. That foundation of chasing heart-trembling gemstones explains how her Bvlgari jewels today still set imaginations soaring.
Their arcs echo those of Francesca Amfitheatrof of Louis Vuitton and Valérie Samuel of Fred. Amfitheatrof, like Sivrière, achieved an extremely challenging feat: building a division from scratch. High jewellery is relatively new for Louis Vuitton, debuting just five years ago in 2019 under her leadership. In little time, she has given the category a distinct identity that extends even to fine jewellery with Vuitton-branded cuts of diamonds.
Valérie Samuel boasts lineage—increasingly rare in a corporatised field. She is the granddaughter of Fred Samuel, the eponymous founder. As artistic director and vice president, she continues and builds on the house’s uniquely sunny identity, with recent high jewellery collections exploring her grandfather’s perspective on colour and joie de vivre.
Finally, French designer Nathalie Verdeille, chief artistic officer at Tiffany & Co. A veteran of Parisian, Place Vendôme high jewellery with stints at Lorenz Bäumer, Chaumet, and Cartier, her CV is stacked. Verdeille is now a fascinating talent to watch as she mines the creative riches of Tiffany & Co.’s archives, particularly those of Jean Schlumberger, to reinvigorate one of the world’s most important jewellery houses.
