Piaget Design Studio

A glimpse into Piaget design studio

The New Neighbors Are Creators

To enjoy you Paris, you have to be light packed, flat shoes, a small bottle of water and if your someone like me who enjoys saving the moments, a camera always packed in your bag.
While having a lovely walk with  a friend  around  St Michel in Paris, we end it up in Chatelet in a street called place Saint Opportun  where we discovered a very live and colorful  shop, with so many artistic work. Curious to discover more we entered the place, the shop name was "Espace Saint Opportune" and the idea behind this shop is gathering, designer and creators, from different backgrounds and arts under the tag line "Les nouveaux voisins sont des createurs" , "the new neighbors are creators"

There  we met Takumi and Wanaka, two Japanese jewelry designers living in France

Takumi gets her inspirations from books, and history, we found in her collection, themes like the Egyptian ancient traditions and the Egyptian scarab,the most  interesting  in her designs the way she interpret them into the jewelry using mainly laiton material (kind of bronze) and semi precious stones
her brands name is IMUKA TIMUKA Paris.
 Takumi studied fashion design at studio Berco in Paris and created her brand in 2009

Wakana Ikeda, has a totally different story, she travels all Europe during the year, searching for antique and vintage pieces.
Pieces, from keys, to watches, to medals, anything that can come to your mind, and then she transforms them into an antique, vintage jewelry piece, each piece is totally unique and has its own story, amazing journey of creativity

Wakana created her brand in 2011, the concept of her designs is based on "SAI :31" which is also her brand name, Sai has 2 meanings in Japanese  " Again ", re-use, re-birth and re-generation .
What is more interesting in the name that it is the sound of each of the numbers 3 and  1.
3 is the San in Japanese , and 1 is Ichi , Sa (n) I (Chi ).

 Even the display materials are vintage or antique pieces, that Wanada found during her travels

 This watch is a mechanical watch, antique piece made into pendante

 the story of this pencil, is amazing, it goes to the 19th century, and she made a pendant out of it, just so amazing, this was one of my favorite pieces

 Takumi and Wakana, will be exhibiting along with other talented artists again in " Espace Saint Opportune"

from 22 to 28 octobre

       &   12 to 25 November 

From Monday to sunday, starting 11 am until 8 pm 

Metro Chatelet

Fluorite gem and pearls

Fleurie

Diamonds are very nice to gaze in with a loop or even without a loop, but precious and semi-precious stones is yet another story, the effects and unlimited colors that provides different mixtures of minerals takes you to a world out of this world, I enjoy gazing at stones, and more I learn about stones I realize that there is so much more to learn.
For many years I enjoyed creating concepts for bridal and high end parrures, it is and still an amazing journey. Just a couple of months ago I got some semi precious stones from Honk Kong, a Fluorite along other stones, I loved it so much , a simple mineral with an electric color between green and purple, so I decided to make a necklace out of it, not only to create it the concept, but making it myself, so a gathered the materials I have in my workshop and the stones that I had, made some sketches and started the work.
Making the jewelry yourself gives a whole other dimension to the design itself, specially if you are making it for you, it is important to touch the stone to feel what kind of effect that gives you, image where or how you have to wear it, this is a process I usually do with my clients to understand more their personality in order to be able to merge it into the design that will be made for them.
Since it is springtime and it is all flowery I decided to name it : Fleurie. I love flowers, and colors, and who doesn't love it, it just gives a sunshine to the soul. So to give the necklace the flowery effect I used pearls my favorite stones and some green crystals that I found  in my small atelier, I enjoyed making this necklace piece by piece its colors made me happy, It is really a springtime necklace.

More on the Fluorite stone :
Description :Fluorite is a mineral, known for its reputation as " the most colorful mineral in the world "
Color :It naturally occurs in all colors of the spectrum, some of the stones are very intense in color, yellow, purple, green, red, pink, gray, black,blue,brown, white.
Group/Family : Fluorite belongs to the spar family.
Category : Mineral
Cristal : Isometric, Cubic octahedral
Chemical Formula :  Calcium fluoride, ( CaF2)
Mohs Scale : 4, it is a very soft stone that is why it is advisable to use it only in making pendants, earrings, and necklaces.
Fluorescence : very intense, blue-violet,
Mine : Canada, Austria, China, France,Germany, England,Spain, Russia, Namibia,Switzerland, Morocco, Mexico, United States.
Mystical powers : They say fluorite gemstone is a powerful healer, helps energize the chakras in your body, helps bring spiritual peace and wholeness
Healing powers : It can be used as a meditation stone, to give more energy to the body and help raise the power of concentration.

Name of the piece :" Fleurie 

A hand made necklace by me for me 

Stones : Fluorite with violet, green color, pearls and green crystals .

Tiger's Eye Gemstone

Tiger Eye, or Oeil de Tigre :

Description :Is a chatoyant gemstone that is usually a metamorphic rock
Color: Tiger eye has a rich yellow and golden brown stripes, with a fine golden luster when polished.
Group/Family : the Tiger Eye belongs to the quartz family, it is a classic example of psyeudomophous replacement by silica of fibrous crocidolite, an incompletely silicified blue variant is called Hawk's eye that causes a cat's eye effects known as chantoyancy.
Category : Mineral 
Cristal : rhombohedral
Chemical formula :Silica (silicon dioxide, SiO2)
Mohs Scale : 7
Mine : the tiger eye is mined primary in South Africa, and Western Australia, but you can also find it in Burma, US( California), India, Namibia.

      It is amazing how gazing at gemstones can be great, recently i got a project  that includes tiger's eye gem, I had the stones with me, I couldn't stop rolling it under the light to see the different aspects of this stones, the variety of the colors that comes along with it chatoyancy a vertical luminescent band like the tigers eye that moves along with the light, it is very beautiful. Jewelry designing goes far beyond then just a beautiful piece it is much more than that, the use of gemstones from prehistory until now had really different meanings than just an ornamental piece. It is said that the Tigers eye aside its use in jewelry pieces has :
Mystical powers that  helps focusing the mind, promoting mental clarity, stabilizing the mood swings  and strengthening the self confidence.
healing powers  it is used for psychosomatic illness-high blood pressure -heart disease
Its Zodiac : Is Capricorn
Planet : Sun
Element : Fire, Earth

 

The Story of my De Beers Award

Its November 21 -2007 my name was called on the stage , i am in chock , i cannot believed it , i step on the stage receive a De Beers award for the best Rayana design ,at the first diamond jewelry competition.
I don't remember much but the lights, too much flash lights, the place was so crowded with guests, reporters and camera men .

Suddenly as if everything went on mute and i am thinking to myself when did this happened ?? how did this happened ?? why?? did i ever plan for this ? how i managed to receive a such an important award ? .Thousand and thousands of questions went through my mind , happy and excited ...

It clicked to me, I went couple of years back as if time stopped right there, as if i was in a movie...
It all started with an argument with mam .Yes i remember now, my first year at the medical school i run away within couple of months and turned into clinical psychology after long negotiations with mam, psychology was a compromise between art school and medical school, which was also something i enjoyed a lot but not really satisfying the family standard, and of course we know best in the Lebanese society the prejudice they have on the studies we decide to make and of course more on the artistic studies. I hope it is changing now .

Mam who always dreamed to have me a as a doctor was very disappointed of my decision but she is a mam and she wants the best for her daughter, despite her disappointment, she enrolled me to an art school along with my university studies, in the beginning i thought it was a fine art school  and was thrilled to it, said to myself finally my dream will come true, and mam is believing in my talent, I attended the class to discover that it was a jewelry designing courses very disappointed went back home and argued with mam and complained about her decision, I was very angry . Never imagined back then that one day, jewelry will become a passion and a dream job for me .
Mam replied to me very calmly, listen my Daughter today your father and I, have done everything we can to educate you and your sisters, but you never know what happens in life in addition to your university diploma , we want to give you a handcraft art so that you can  use your talent effectively if you needed so, we want to make sure that we have done everything we can to give you a solid future. Of course i was very angry at that time i didn't really listen to her and didn't appreciate her advice yet continued my classes and excelled in both jewelry designing and psychology  i was not rebellious and i am so grateful for that , and time passed so quickly...

Suddenly i came back to reality, it was noisy mam was in Lebanon and couldn't attend the event, i felt a pain in my heart and my stomach , i felt like i needed to apologist to mam right away to hug her and to kiss her hands and to thank her a million times for her wisdom, for her patience, for her advices, for her unconditional love . And to tell her "Dear mam i am here today because of all your efforts to guide me, i wouldn't have succeeded in my life if you were not there for me each and every step of the way " .

There was so many reporters interviewing me and asking me so many questions about my career, and taking photos but i was rushing to leave the event and call mam , i cried from happiness and thanked her alot and of course i was so greatful that i really had the chance to know how lucky i am to have a such a great mam like mam.


 I love you mam , you are the greatest mam on earth , and may God keep you always safe and healthy to us

 Thank you so much for everything you have done for us.

Happy Mothers Day 

to you and to all the mothers on earth .

Premier Awards 2010 -Nominations

         

    Many of you were waiting the results of the Jewelry competition " Premier Awards 2010 " which was held a few months ago in Bahrain

I was awarded the 1^st runner up place for the" Best Innovative design in the category Young Arab Designer", for the piece named "La Spoza"

I would love to take this opportunity to thank all my family, friends, clients, fans, colleagues all over the world for your constant support, for your votes, and for your appreciation of my work.

I would also love to thank Scintilla Monaco‘s Board directors for their great support all the time and for making this happened.

A Special thanks for the Mpp Arabia and the Premier Awards management for sending me the appreciation diploma all the way to France.

I could not have done it without you all. 

Thank you all 

 Vous attendiez tous les résultats du concours de Joaillerie " Premier Awards 2010 " qui s est tenu il y a quelques mois a Bahreïn

La pièce « La Spoza » qui concourrait pour le meilleur design innovant, m’a consacrée 2^eme dans la catégorie « Jeunes Créateurs Arabes ».

A cette occasion, je voudrais remercier chaleureusement ma famille, mes amis, clients et collègues de part le monde, pour votre soutien constant, pour vos votes, et pour votre appréciation de mon travail

Je voudrais aussi remercier l’équipe dirigeante de Scintilla Monaco pour sa confiance qui a permis ce résultat

Enfin, je remercie MPP Arabia et le concours Premier Awards pour m’avoir envoyé  le prix jusqu ‘en France

Je n’y serais pas arrivé sans vous

Merci a tous

My visit to Chaumet museum Paris

 Le Musée Chaumet à Paris LUXE TV

LAST DAY OF VOTE ,VOTE FOR ME

 Dear All

Kindly vote for me

I participated in a jewelery competition PREMIER AWARDS  for a design I made for Scintilla Monaco

The public vote counts for 30 % .

the vote deadline is only until the 18th of this month

I am in the :

1. Category : Young Arab Designer
2. Subcategory : Best Innovative design
3. Piece Name :La Spoza

you just need to register your email then they will send you a link and you can vote

The Piece Name is : LA SPOZA

here is the link
http://www.mpp-me.com/Awards/Default.aspx

Click here if you cannot see the email

http://www.mpp-me.com/Awards/#


Thank you
& Best Regards

The Diamond Ring & its Symbolism

Being proposed by the love of your life is one of the things that every girl or women dreams of .

Because of Love Collection-Scintilla Monaco

          when i was a teenager i always thought that i will meet the good prince charming and we will marry and we will live happily ever after ,but as i grew up and was merged in the wild world of the work ,i started gradually giving up on my teenage white dream , and  started believing that such thing does not exist .Even though my English teacher Miss Eva  used to tell me ,every time i went to visit her year after year " you just have to believe in it and it will happen when you are least expecting it ".

  So one day it happened , on the balcony of my family's mountain house ,my husband knelled on one knee to ask me if i want to share my life with him ,of course i jumped and said YES  even before he finishes what he wanted to say and it was one of the best days of my life.

  I am sharing this, because just at the time when i lost faith in LOVE, i discovered that it exist, we just have to believe and wait for the right person to come along our way at the right moment.

So all of you girls ,women .don't loose hope ................TRUE LOVE DOES EXIST

what a diamond ring has to do with all this story ?
    well some say the tradition of giving a diamond ring as an engagement ring  started in Europe in 1477
with Archduke Maximilian of Austria when he presented the first engagement ring set with a diamond to Marry of burgundy as a symbol of his love ,and later she became his wife in 18 august 1477

Mary of Burgundyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_of_Burgundy

Diamond Ring -Scintilla Monaco

that is why 
A Diamond engagement
ring is the most important piece of jewelry that a man can purchase in his life
and also it is the most significant piece of jewelry that a women can receive

Rialto Collection -Scintilla Monaco

   But the symbolism of diamond goes far beyond this date through centuries  diamond always had different symbolism,it was used as a talisman to ward off evil ,kings and rich people  used to wear it for protection during war 

they also believed that the diamond has purification powers

where the Diamond name comes from ?
    the name diamond derived from the Greek name Adams ,that means unconquerable

Ancient Greek ,believed that the diamonds were tears from their gods.

Cupid -the god of love

  in Roman mythology , Cupid the god of love who used to shoot god's and humans with his golden arrow to make them deeply fall in love ,had on  his arrow tips  a small diamond ,because the diamond used to deepen ones love ,and was believed that it was splinters from the stars

Diamonds has a magical world of their own ,full of charm ,today we use it  as symbol of eternity and love ,but in fact diamonds as the song says : are forever

 ,they have been used for all kind and different symbolism throughout the years and centuries .

Creation,Design & Production

Creation

it all starts from a dream ,and then a dream becomes an idea and the idea becomes a reality
in order to create i need to get inspired fashion and nature has always been a major source of inspiration to me ,even though i get inspired by everything around, i always  love to dream about stories specially
love stories 
so this is how i come up with a draft sketches ,but not to mention that designing needs to be nourished
therefore it is very important to do lots of research and stay updates 

 Diamond Selection

The connection between the initial design and the final product consist  in choosing the right material ,in terms of gold and gemstones etc..,it is not an easy process delicacy is needed.

Here i am working on the diamond selection for one of the designs ,selecting the right stones for the right design is one of the most challenging things to do in the process of the selection as sometimes we don't have the stock of stones for the designs so we work on adjusting the designs according the stock or vice versa

Feasibility of the Design   

After finishing the technical design ,we meet with the manufacturer to see the feasibility of the design

this is also one of the hard parts because if the design is a bit particular it might be nice but technically not possible to produce we study different techniques to realize it ,this is where a good craftsman are needed 

its a whole process ,a good designs is always completed with a good production

 Quality check 

here we reached the final steps of a jewelry piece ,well during production ,a designer must go and visit the factory to see if the production is going according to what he visualized  when he made the design and we call this step quality control .

Beautiful piece of Jewelry

and at the end of all this process we have  a beautiful piece of jewelry