The glazed tomato blushing in the garden, the blown glass bottle containing a twig, the snail roaming in the morning dew, the donkey in gray flannel or the painting palette of designer and illustrator Marin Montagut… Renard’s pendants are figurative, never conceptual. “My work is completely instinctive and must speak for itself,” says Renard. You get a sense of authenticity, rurality (she spends part of her time in Auvergne), the emotions generated by the tiny details of everyday life, and of work done by hand. Everything is made of bronze using the lost wax technique, and always in small series. “From time to time I work together with a ceramist or glassblower using the same approach, and the idea of making a profit doesn’t even come into it.” No wonder that Japan, where I discovered Renard a few years ago in a store in the Ayoama district, is so taken with his work.

This very young brand (which uses recycled gold and synthetic diamonds) has taken on designer Philippe Airaud, whose talent is beyond question (he often works in the shadows for major houses). True to his ultra-minimalist style, he works with curves evoking “the traces of the wind in the desert” – an inspiration is reflected in two flagship models: an open necklace and an open ring with a synthetic diamond at each end. They face each other, one emerald cut, the other oval. A neo Toi & Moi, or in the words of Airaud himself, “a face-to-face encounter”. After red, yellow and white gold, this latest version comes in black, matte and charcoal gold. The asymmetrical synthetic stones, set in yellow gold, create luminous counterpoints. Beautiful.

The link dates back to the early 1940s, when the jeweler’s signature piece – the ballerina clip – first appeared. In addition to jewelry and watchmaking creations, Van Cleef & Arpels went on to collaborate with Balanchine and more recently with Benjamin Millepied. Company CEO Nicolas Bos is now taking the connection to another level with a “multifaceted” sponsorship program to “support choreographic heritage and contemporary creativity, and share this artistic universe with as many people as possible”. The initiative is motivated by the same spirit as Van Cleef’s support for The School of Jewelry Arts, with one difference – there is no longer any link with jewelry. The culmination of this program, called “Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels” and directed by Serge Laurent (formerly of the Pompidou Center), will be an annual festival in partnership with the Tate and the Royal Opera. The first event in London, in April 2022, will present 18 works from the 1970s to the present day, by both well-known and unknown artists.

By Marie-Laure Cassius-Duranton.

Auctions are not only about jewelry that once belonged to our ancestors. Three creations of Yasuki Hiramatsu (1926-2012), considered the first contemporary Japanese jeweler-artist, have just been sold by De Zwann (Amsterdam) – marking a first. Highly appreciated by the initiated, his pieces are usually sold in specialized galleries and have no auction price yet. The showpiece, a square brooch in crumpled gold, is characteristic of Hiramatsu’s sensual relationship with the material. Coming from a family of metalworkers, Hiramatsu finely rolled his gold, then bent, crumpled, hammered or beat it to create textured surfaces. The shapes are simple, the most important thing is the relationship of the metal to the light. The brooch (a similar example can be seen at the Victoria & Albert Museum), estimated at €1800-2,200, went under the hammer for €3,200.

In France, a few major auction houses ­ – Christie’s, Sotheby’s, Artcurial and Aguttes – dominate jewelry and watch auctions as well as the media – the top ten account for 41% of all jewelry and watch sales. However it is little known that there are in fact 415 auction houses in the country, 68% of which are small companies with annual sales of less than 2 million euros. Scattered throughout Paris and the regions, they too offer jewelry and watches, most often in regular sales (along with furniture, cars and even DIY tools). In other words, they still offer non-wealthy amateurs a rich experience, where real bargains can be found. Keep an eye out!

From CVV (Conseil des Ventes Volontaires)