“I’ve always thought of jewelry as playthings for grown-up children,” says jewelry designer Solange Azagury-Partridge, reflecting on her Kinetic collection of bejeweled pieces that spin, shake and rattle. “Setting a gemstone on a pedestal with its look-but-don’t-touch imperative can make jewelry seem so serious. Where’s the fun?”
Solange: Jewellery for Chromantics definitely captures that fun. With a foreword by Clare Phillips— curator for the Department of Decorative Art and Sculpture at London’s Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum — and insights from author, editor and jewelry historian Ruth Peltason, the book offers an intimate glimpse into the mind of a jewelry innovator who has made an inimitable mark on the world of adornment.
Having designed her first jewel — her engagement ring — in 1987, Azagury-Partridge went on to establish her own business. She was creative director of Boucheron between 2001 and 2004, and today, her avant-garde designs can be found in the permanent collections of both the V&A and Paris’s Musée des Arts Décoratifs.
In her introduction, Peltason describes this book as both a memoir and a “compendium of creations” that guides the reader through a series of themes rather than going in chronological order. Azagury-Partridge introduces every section and explains her inspiration and influences for each piece, but from there, the jewelry speaks for her. Lightning Bolt diamond earrings sparkle against the backdrop of a stormy sky, the Hotlips collection pops from the page, and the Supernature ring sits alongside a series of doodles by Azagury-Partridge’s daughter.
Interspersed among the photographs of the jewels — which include iconic pieces such as the Stoned necklace — are family snapshots and pictures of Azagury-Partridge’s homes and jewelry stores. She also shares art and architecture that have inspired her, from Bugs Bunny cartoons to the medieval cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.
“Chromance,” a word the designer coined to describe her “love affair with color,” may not be in the dictionary, but it definitely exists within the pages of this book, which will delight fans of Azagury-Partridge and invite new “chromantics” to discover her world.
Solange: Jewellery for Chromantics by Solange Azagury-Partridge and Ruth Peltason comes out in October from Rizzoli.
Main Image: Queen ring in yellow and white gold set with a central heart-shape diamond, round brilliant-cut diamonds and red guilloché enamel. (Solange Azagury-Partridge/Edward Edwards)
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