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| Antique Amethyst and gold set created by Mellerio dits Meller |
The rain fell as I was retrieving my Rail Europe ticket at the
Gare de Lyon rail station. The spring rain in Paris is often romanticized in
books and movies. But this was just a cold, hard drizzle, marking a sad goodbye
to an exceptional four days in the “City of Light.”
In a brief period of time I was able to visit the oldest family-owned
jewelry firm in the world, meet with one of the top independent jewelry
designers in the city and an up-and-coming independent designer who is making a
mark creating haute couture jewelry with an edge.
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| Inside Mellerio dits Meller |
My last meeting was the most anticipated and the most
memorable. As I have written in the past, Mellerio dits Meller is the oldest family-owned jewelry business. It is a claim rather than a fact in that there may be others
out there that are older. However, no one else has stepped forward. What is
fact is its history from the beginning is fully documented, with almost all the
records in the store. This is indisputable. In fact, the business may have been
in operation up to 100 years before its first 1613 documentation.
I spent an afternoon there with Larent Baty,
Diane-Sophie Lanselle and Emilie Merillio, board president and the 15th
generation family member working at the company.
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| Part of the archives at Mellerio dits Meller |
Being old is only part of the story with this firm located
at 9 Rue de la Paix, a stone’s throw from Place Vandome. As the jeweler to
royalty in France and most of Europe, it was front and center as a continent controlled
by monarchies gradually changed to democratic rule. Its meticulous archives located
two floors below the oak-paneled sales floor chronicles this history in sales
receipts written in worn large-bound books. One inscription reads of a sale to a
member of the French monarchy on July 14, 1789. This is Bastille Day. “She was
certainly optimistic,” Lanselle said.
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| Historic drawings |
One floor above contains what is basically an historic
exhibition of its jewels through the past 200 years or so loaned to them from
the established families who still do business with Mellerio. A necklace,
earrings and tiara made of large round amethyst gems set in and crowned by
yellow gold filigree. A white ribbon made of gold-plated silver and diamond
pave. An unusual piece is gold jewelry designed to be placed over fingernails.
The jeweler still caters to royalty but this time it is the
family rulers from the Middle East who walk through the doors. It also serves a
new royalty, the business elite. Some of the names include … well, Emilie Mellerio
would not say. “We are discreet.”
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| A lace pearl and emerald necklace part of the Mellerio dits Meller anniversary collection. |
It is an exclusive shop but you don’t need an appointment to
enter. Just like the Cartier store practically next door you can come in from
the street. It also provides something that other corporate-owned jewelers and
watchmakers cannot: value. Baty, the general manager, explains it’s
because nearly all of the jewels are made in a workshop above the store. So
custom-made or limited-edition pieces are made on premise and without the added
cost of supporting the marketing, advertising and in many cases the corporate
structure of a conglomerate-owned business.
While it is an exclusive company there’s also a recognition
that this is a small family owned, entrepreneurial business. There’s no
pretense among the managers. Emilie, who previously worked for LVMH, explained
that everyone, including herself, do a number of jobs to keep the business
humming.
I previously wrote about the 400th-anniversary collection
the company released last spring. I received a first-hand look at the pieces.
They were created by Parisian jewelry designer Edéenne. In a stroke of luck I
met the designer with her agent, Erwann Bigot, whom I contacted as a way of getting
an introduction to the Parisian high jewelry world.
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| A magic carpet by Edéenne |
Edéenne is more than a jeweler. She is a storyteller who
specializes in making custom jewelry pieces for clients based on their own
personal histories, aspirations and even fantasies. She will interview a client
for two hours before deciding on the piece she will create. She also creates
pieces based on movies and books; and occasionally special creations.
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| A lantern with three diamonds inside instead of wishes by Edéenne. |
The thing about Edéenne that makes her stand out to me is
that I can’t discern a particular style in her pieces. She showed me pieces
that were wildly different from one another. Whether it’s a white gold ring
containing a carved flower inside as if it is in a bubble or a large
flower-shaped emerald inside a flower-shaped ring.
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| A flower inside of a sapphire crystal bubble by Edéenne. |
One hallmark about her pieces is that they are often
“engineered” to perform multiple tasks. For example, a magic carpet ring made
of white gold and emeralds is paired with petite lantern pendant necklace. When
“rubbed” or opened at the top it reveals, instead of three wishes, three round
faceted diamonds.
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| Long white gold and diamond ring by Pamela Hastry. |
Finally, there’s Pamela Hastry and her brand Morphée Joaillerie, whose office/showroom I
visited. She opened her business in September and quickly made inroads in the
UK and Europe. She’s well-versed in social media so she is known in the US as
well. She describes her pieces as haute jewelry with a street edge.
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| A sapphire pave bird perches on a by white goby ld twig Pamela Hastry. |
The Belgium native who speaks impeccable French and English
makes limited edition collections that have the traditional delicacy of fine
French jewelry but with a slant that would be appealing for a more
fashion-or-trend conscience consumer with taste. Her earrings are made to be
worn on the side and above the ears. Her long, open-worked rings, whether for
one or two fingers, run above and turn slightly along the side of the finger.
This is just an overview of what I saw during my short stay
in Paris. Each person and business will receive special treatment in the future. For
now it’s time for Baselworld.
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