Published on by Olivier Maupas-Sehikyan · Bracelets
There are appointments where you sense at once that the object lying on the workbench weighs far more than its weight in gold. On that day, a client walked into my workshop in Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire, near Nantes, with jewellery that had travelled through the years in her family. She wanted neither to sell it nor to leave it sleeping in a drawer. Her idea was clear and courageous: to turn it into a substantial 18-carat yellow gold bracelet, adorned with two lions' heads.
Family jewellery steeped in history
When I took this family jewellery in my hand, I felt its sentimental value first, before even thinking of its material worth. It carried memories, gestures and emotions that cannot be weighed on a scale. I told myself that my responsibility was twofold: to respect this past, and to give it a second life that would be meaningful for the woman who was going to wear it.
We talked at length. I always listen carefully before drawing a single line. You have to understand what the piece must tell, the place it will hold on the wrist, the strength or the softness it must convey. Here, the word that kept coming back was strength. The lion imposed itself almost naturally, like a guardian of the family's memory.
From drawing to wax: imagining the lion's head bracelet
The work began on paper. I drew a broad, generous 18-carat yellow gold lion's head bracelet, designed to be worn for a long time and to pass through the generations. I wanted it to be substantial, not out of any taste for ostentation, but because the mass of gold gives presence, hang and a real sense of permanence when it closes around the wrist.
There was little doubt about the choice of metal. 18-carat yellow gold has a warm colour, reminiscent of the original pieces, and wears beautifully in everyday life. It can also be sculpted with great finesse, which mattered a great deal for the two lions.
Then came the stage I like best: modelling in wax. Under my tools, the heads took on relief. The brow, the muzzle and the folds of the mane gradually emerged. I reworked them several times, until I achieved the gaze I had in mind, at once noble and protective.
Melting the old gold, a moment apart
To transform old jewellery, you must accept seeing it vanish in its original form. It is a delicate step, and I never take it lightly. The gold of the original pieces was melted in the workshop, then cast in the mould taken from the wax. Nothing was replaced with metal from elsewhere: it is truly the family's own material that gave birth to the new bracelet.
When the piece came out of the mould, still raw and a little rough, I knew the most important part was done. The form existed. It remained to clean it, adjust it and give it its finish. Filing, hand-finishing of the details, then successive polishings brought back the warmth of the gold, until the surface caught the light.
Setting the diamonds: the gaze and the light
A lion without a gaze is merely a sculpture. In the eyes of the two heads, I therefore carried out the setting of round diamonds. Each stone was placed with extreme care, at the right depth and the right angle, so that it would hold the light and return it with a living brilliance. At that precise moment, the animals ceased to be worked gold: they looked back at us.
I also wanted a contrast. I set two baguette diamonds in the manes. Their rectangular cut, crisp and geometric, stands out against the curves of the sculpture and the colour of the yellow gold. With every movement of the wrist, they throw off small flashes of light, like reflections running through the mane.
A piece made to be worn
A piece this imposing must remain a pleasure to wear. I therefore checked the balance, the comfort and the suppleness of movement. The edges were softened, the inside carefully polished, the stones checked one by one. These are details you do not notice, but that you feel every time you wear a piece of jewellery.
A bespoke piece, handed over like a passing of the baton
Handing over a piece of jewellery is always a special moment. This one was even more so, because it was not content to be new: it carried within it what had come before. As I presented it to my client, I hoped she would recognise her memories in a new form, and see in it as much her own story as that of her family.
For me, a bespoke piece of jewellery in Nantes or elsewhere is worth nothing unless it has a soul. This bracelet links past and present. It keeps the memory of a family, and it looks towards the future: a treasure to cherish, which can in turn be handed down. I am happy to have brought my craftsmanship to it, and grateful to have been entrusted with material so full of meaning.
Come and talk about it at the workshop
If you too keep family jewellery and do not know what to do with it, or have a design idea that keeps turning over in your mind, come and talk about it at the workshop in Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire, near Nantes. We will look together at what you have and what you wish for, and calmly see what is possible. With no obligation, over a coffee, as one talks about a story close to one's heart.
