THE NATURE OF BEAUTY
The exquisite Tiffany & Co. Schlumberger® Thistle necklace took two years to create by hand and represents the pinnacle of designer extraordinaire Jean Schlumberger’s ‘nature’ creations for the renowned jewellery house.
The intricate beauty of the jewellery created by French designer Jean Schlumberger (1907-1987) is a celebration of planet Earth. Regarded as one of the leading jewellery designers of the 20th century and best known for his work with Tiffany & Co., Schlumberger’s vision forever transformed high jewellery. With the designer continually finding inspiration from nature, his designs saw precious materials found deep within the ground forged into forms that interpret the beauty found above it.
In creating his conceptualisations of flora and fauna, he brought to his designs a deep and uninhibited imagination. Whether inspiration struck from animal, vegetable or mineral, he consistently saw potential in the world around him and was able to add hybrid twists to simple forms
– a starfish became a star, a flower a sun, a bird’s plumage an angel’s wing. “I try to make everything look as if it were growing, uneven, organic,” he once said. “I want to capture the irregularity of the universe.”
A piece that encapsulates this design philosophy is the Tiffany & Co. Schlumberger® Thistle necklace. A thicket of thistles in diamond form, the Thistle necklace showcases Schlumberger’s genius as well as exceptional Tiffany craftsmanship. Part of a travelling high jewellery collection, New Zealanders have had the chance to see the piece in person with the Thistle necklace making a stop in Tāmaki Makaurau on its tour, being showcased in the Auckland Tiffany & Co. store until 4 May.
DELICATE DIAMOND CREATION
Taking more than two years to create by hand, the necklace plays on the bristly shape of the thistle flower and its prickly surroundings, and sees the neck encircled in a tangle of burgeoning buds and leaves.
To create the delicate layering of textures, dimensions and shadows, artisans meticulously used gold wire to tether each sparkling diamond element together; a delicate operation requiring dexterity to allow the diamonds to be set for optimal appeal and wearability. The Thistle necklace forms part of Tiffany & Co.’s jawdropping 2021 Blue Book Collection, Colors of Nature. The dazzling high jewellery range includes a number of pieces created using the original jewels and drawings of Schlumberger. “We wanted to showcase Schlumberger’s visionary designs – some never seen before, re-envisioned from original sketches,” Tiffany & Co chief gemologist Victoria Reynolds told the Financial Times. “Schlumberger is so important to our high jewellery story, we wanted to elevate our heritage and bring it to life.”
Born in Alsace, France to a prominent family of textile manufacturers, Schlumberger had been dissuaded from pursuing the arts despite demonstrating a natural talent for drawing from a young age. His parents sent him to Berlin in the 1930s to embark on a career as a banker, however in his early 20s he moved to Paris to honour and develop his creative impulses. Here he revelled in the city’s vibrant culture. A lover of antiques and without the financial