Meeting with Akillis

Beautiful French jewellery Maison Akillis celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, while we were meeting for the 12th time. Talented and original Caroline Gaspard created the brand in her own image. A brand both disruptive and representative of traditional French know-how, well known for its unconventional style, boldness and determination.

Akillis: disruptive jewellery

This amazing necklace named Guarani was revealed during a sumptuous reception in Paris at the Palais de Chaillot for the 10th anniversary of the brand. A party crowded with celebrities and fashion models dressed by well-known French designer Jean-Claude Jitrois.

Made of gold, diamonds and Paraiba tourmaline, with an ethnic aura like a totem, this jewellery piece is transformable and can be worn different ways, it adorns a woman’s body, its geometrical lines adapting to natural shapes.

Inspired by the Amazon region and the Guarani tribes, Caroline Gaspard brings to light one of her favourite gems: the Paraiba tourmaline. This singular stone abd its inimitable colour reminds her of the carefree and relaxed atmosphere of the South Seas. Yet little known, it was discovered in 1989 and saw its rating rise in recent years. Caroline Gaspard has perfected the design of the jewel by delicately adding diamonds to the blue-green gems, mimicking the sun’s sparkling reflection on the water. A lot of poetry for a somewhat very architectural necklace.

With photographer Yoann L’hostellier we had fun imagining this necklace in the Amazon forest. The Paraiba tourmaline comes mostly from Paraiba, a region located by the sea – far from the Amazon rainforest. However, we wanted to pay tribute to the Guarani tribes whose art has strongly inspired Caroline Gaspard for this necklace and the other pieces of the jewellery set. Placing the necklace on the terra petra, dear to the Guarani people, a rich land shaped by Man, a nourishing and solid land… was done to highlight the values that Caroline Gaspard wishes to convey through her brand, in particular love! The love of this people for their land and their forest, but also love for itself.

Love is a central theme for Akillis, as expressed in the Capture-moi collection (read all about it in our article published last year), which now has five additional pieces named Passion Mordante – devouring passion – with an even more graphic style, for an even stronger declaration of love. Like etheral triangle pieces of gold and diamonds, it looks like a trap ready to capture its prey, evoking a true love, all at once passionate and possessive.

Though Caroline Gaspard wants to shake up the codes of classical jewellery with Akillis, she relies on a one of a kind French know-how and on solid expertise in her workshop located in Lyon, where all her collections are crafted.

Akillis, an outstanding French savoir-faire

Some may say that she doesn’t hesitate to bypass the codes of French jewellery, in all cases Caroline Gaspard has one governing principle, that of quality. She is extremely demanding and keeps a close eye on the work in her workshop where each one of her jewels are handmade.

Each collection is methodically constructed, yet never forgetting creativity.

In the past 10 years, Caroline Gaspard has designed five high jewellery collections: Heartbeat, Cruella, Puzzle, Python and Guarani, and seven unisex jewellery collections: Capture-moi, Python, Fatal Attraction, Bang Bang, Mini Bang Bang and Mini Puzzle.

Caroline Gaspard was very young when she launched her brand. She was born in 1981 and unveiled her first collection, Bang Bang, in 2007, which made a sensation and disrupted the world of classic jewellery. She continued by launching the Puzzle collection and opening a store in Moscow in the same year. Her positive energy and her desire for freedom led her to create the Hearbeat collection in 2011, to open her first Paris store in 2013 and to launch the Python collection in 2015. Unstoppable, she recently opened an even larger store in Paris, located rue Saint-Honoré i.e. closer to the Place Vendôme.

To keep pace with this unrestricted creativity, it was obvious that Akillis had to possess its own workshop. The city of Lyon, birthplace of French jewellery know-how, was chosen by the brand for its excellence. As a result, Akillis masters every fabrication stage and offers the best service: from creative process to manufacturing, always at the cutting edge. Akillis also knows how to mix traditional manufacturing processes with innovative technologies for optimum quality and visual results. The workshops also have a foundry with fusion furnaces dedicated to each alloy, which enables even more creativity and reactivity. Furthermore, Akillis wishes to transmit jewellery know-how and sensitivity to younger generations by regularly integrating young talents to its workshop.

Know-how and craftwork intelligence are united to make your wildest dreams come true and create a unique jewel that expresses your personality.

With Caroline Gaspard, nothing is impossible. For this passionate woman who has not hesitated to celebrate her wedding over six times, life would be nothing without audacity and freedom.