Maison Belmont

AN ODE TO DECORATIVE ARTS

An ardent arts and crafts devotee, Sarah Mugnier made a dream come true by gathering a multitude of craftspeople and experts to decorate the Maison Belmont showroom. It was through this process that she met Vincent Darré and gave him carte blanche to imagine a large wall painting, pieces of furniture and bespoke lighting for this extraordinary space. The magic happened! She then invited him to bring his bold world to life through the art of jewellery. Based on four watercolours suggested by the Paris-based artist, together they developed a collection made in a renowned workshop in Geneva.

“I’ve always been interested in Vincent Darré’s work and I was very happy with this first artistic collaboration to decorate the Maison Belmont’s entrance; his style and highly distinctive fantastical and theatrical world spoke to me and inspired me. We also had a lot of fun during those months of collaboration! So, it was very natural for me to ask him to create a jewellery collection together.”

explains Sarah Mugnier.

The pair worked collaboratively, sharing a motivation to rediscover and reinterpret the indisputable beauty and dreamlike poetry of the fabulous Renaissance jewellery, a period in art history of which Maison Belmont is particularly fond, as reflected in all its collections. This historical reference – which became the one and only “constraint” in the creation of this collection – established itself as an obvious source of inspiration for Vincent Darré, one of which he is equally fond.

ARTS AND CRAFTS THE ART OF TAKING YOUR TIME

Like an orchestra conductor, Sarah Mugnier has surrounded herself with a team of enthusiasts who have worked together to bring this new collection to life. Jewellers, an enameller, a jewel setter, a miniature painters, a 3D designer, gem dealers and an engraver all rose to the challenge and put their expertise at the service of Maison Belmont to create these extraordinary pieces.

Enamel Grand Feu, a centuries-old process that involves applying crushed glass to metal, was widely used to create jewellery during the Renaissance. It is showcased in this collection. “The translucent, opaque or opalescent enamels preserve their colour and brilliance indefinitely because glass is one of the few materials that does not oxidise or tarnish over time,” explains the enameller Inès Hamaguchi. The use of enamel to decorate jewellery became scarce during the 20th century, however, due to the length of time taken to master the different techniques and create the pieces. Inès continues: “As an artisan, my role is to interpret the design in enamel and bring what the artist had in their head to life. My work is purely technical. In this case, I was even able to apply the unusual process of ronde-bosse. I find complex pieces and challenges very motivating!”

The artisan jeweller has been working closely with Maison Belmont since the brand’s early days: “This wonderful profession was passed on to me 40 years ago and I’ve tried hard to take my turn at passing it on over the last 25 years. Loving beauty and respecting the material are what is important! I was blown away by the original and audacious quality of Vincent Darré’s designs. The right proportions, the details. It was impressive! Then with the high-fired enamel technique, we all had to work together to carry out the research and tests to find the best solutions. It was a really fascinating and exciting challenge!”

He goes on: “The joy felt by Sarah Mugnier and Vincent Darré in connection to this project was contagious. They both had stars in their eyes!” A multitude of stages come into play when creating such complex jewellery. Vincent Darré’s watercolours came out of his initial thoughts and conversations with Sarah Mugnier; these were then passed on to the artisans involved to discuss feasibility. After a phase during which the original designs were modified, 3D plans and then maquettes were made; resin waxes then allowed them to work the volumes and get a closer sense of the pieces. All this, followed by the coordination between the artisans involved, required long months of tireless work.

“It’s about teamwork, that’s clear. And I can only thank all those people involved in this project, who believed in it with me. Every detail was discussed, together. It was really emotional for Vincent and me to hold every piece of jewellery in our hands as it came out of the workshops!”

highlights Sarah Mugnier.