A SPARKLY COLLAB – FLAV JOAILLERIE X LE DIAMANTAIRE

You might have come across a diamond made of recycled mirrors on a Parisian street… well, the person behind this is none other than street artist Alexis, a.k.a. Le Diamantaire He started out in the French capital in 2011 and has since decorated the streets of major cities around the world such as London, Barcelona, Zurich, New York, Montreal or Tokyo, as well as unusual places like the Paris Catacombs, the top of La Soufrière or an islet in the middle of the Caribbean Sea.

Flavie Paris is a young and talented jewelry designer. She has been creating jewelry collections and custom pieces by hand in her Paris workshop for nearly 5 years. After studying art history and archeology at the Sorbonne University, she became an apprentice at Cartier, then worked for Michelle Ong as a creative director in Hong Kong, before creating her own brand FLAV Joaillerie Paris in 2015. She is also a lecturer at the Paris Haute École de Joaillerie.

United by their common passion for diamonds, the two artists joined forces to create a gender-neutral jewelry collection of signet rings and pendants called “CHIC & BLING”. Combining street art and jewelry know-how, the pieces are based on Le Diamantaire’s famous logo and are available in silver, vermeil, white gold, and 18K yellow gold with gemstones. They’re elegant and easy to wear on a daily basis. Prices start at €850.

When two worlds merge around diamonds

Hello Flavie and Alexis, how would you each define your own style?

Alexis: I would say my style is geometric and quite minimalist in terms of composition. I work with mirrors and my goal is to confuse the viewer by playing with infinity mirrors. My starting point is the diamond symbol and I use several techniques to build on the initial idea, while trying to stick to a theme. I would say I’m a kind of explorer in the search for materials, techniques and effects.

Flavie: My style is mainly geometric too. My designs are mostly influenced by architecture and archeology, especially Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece, which I convey through very clean, sleek shapes – no round shapes. Since I create bespoke pieces, I have to meet the desires of my customers, which prompts me to explore many different styles.

How did you two meet and why did you decide to work together?

Alexis: Everything happened in a very natural way. I posted an Instagram picture of a ring made by Anjuna, to which Flavie reacted jokingly: “More diamonds would make it even better!”. I really like Flavie’s designs. When she suggested we make a ring together I thought we could even make a whole collection. Developing my identity in the field of jewelry through my first collab was a real evolution for me.

Alexis, why did you choose diamonds as your street art symbol?

This choice stems from my wish to have a symbol linked with a material. When I was younger, I was inspired by artists like Obey, Invader, M. Chat or Krisprolls, who all had a pretty strong identity, with some kind of logo. One day, I was bored in class and I drew this diamond, which I decided to combine with mirrors and display on the street.

For me, the symbolism of creating diamonds from mirrors thrown in the trash was pretty strong because there’s this idea of second chances, and there’s also an interesting paradox between the solid nature of diamonds versus the fragility of mirrors and the ephemeral practice of street art. Diamonds are also a universal symbol of luxury and aesthetics. Displaying diamonds in popular neighborhoods makes them accessible and allows me to share my art with everyone.

Two local and eco-friendly artisans

Flavie, what are your favorite materials?

I would say wax, because wax carving offers many possibilities in jewelry. This technique was actually used by the Ancient Egyptians, but they used beeswax. I have very little contact with metal since I don’t usually work with it directly. After carving, I just get the finished piece in gold or silver.

In terms of gemstones, diamonds are my favorite! Sometimes I will go for emeralds or rubies, but they’re becoming increasingly rare and it’s difficult to find stones with no inclusions at a price lower than that of diamonds per carat.

I only work with recycled gold, and when I make bespoke pieces my customers often give me old jewelry I can directly melt down. Today there are certification labels such as Fairmined, which is ethical on a human level but presents an important environmental issue since it involves the destruction of mines. The same problem occurs with synthetic diamonds, whose carbon emissions are high. While we wait for better alternatives, I prefer to work with recycled materials as much as possible.

How did you go about creating the designs and choosing the materials?

Alexis: We started out with the diamond symbol and added elements from Flavie’s creations on the sides se we could each maintain our personal touch. The goal was to create an openwork piece that was still quite substantial, with a few gemstones on it. I completely trusted Flavie with the creation process.

Flavie: We created the design together. I made a first wax model based on Alexis’s diamond, then a first cast, but it didn’t work out in the end so I made another model. I would send pictures to Alexis as I went along and he would give me feedback, which allowed us both to get things into perspective. The whole process took a month, it was very fast since it was just the two of us without any intermediaries.

Who is this collection for? Which message do you want to communicate?

We wanted to create a collection of gender-neutral jewelry pieces that are easy to wear on a daily basis, with a price range wide enough so everyone can afford a piece – from the €850 pendant to the €7,500 full diamond ring.

We’re both local artisans. Everything is handmade in Paris and we choose our materials carefully. This all contributes to the price.

What’s next? Any projects?

We’re very happy to have created beautiful pieces, and if the collection is successful, we might think about making new ones – earrings for example. We’ll see…

We will also submit our pieces to the next session of the “Made in Paris” label. There will be prizes to win and Parisians will be able to vote for their favorites.