Published on by Olivier Maupas-Sehikyan · Pendants
Some jewels carry far more than a stone and a metal. The one I am describing today is a platinum heart pendant set with a heart-cut tanzanite, surrounded by a halo of diamonds and sapphires. It was created for a golden wedding anniversary, fifty years of marriage. And it has one particularity that touched me from the very first moment: the design is not mine, it is my client's. I simply had the good fortune to bring it to life in my workshop in Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire, near Nantes.
A carefully folded drawing and fifty years to celebrate
That day, a couple pushed open the door of the workshop. My client was holding a sheet of paper, folded with great care, which he unfolded in front of me with a hint of hesitation. On it were a large heart, a halo of small stones and, at the centre, a tanzanite. He wanted to give it to his wife for their golden wedding anniversary.
Fifty years of marriage is half a century of companionship, of trials overcome and happiness gathered along the way. Such an anniversary called for a jewel worthy of it. The brief was perfectly clear: this pendant had to be unique in the world, just like their story. For this kind of bespoke jewellery in Nantes, nothing pleases me more than a project that comes straight from my clients' hearts.
Every detail of the drawing had a meaning
We took the time to talk it through at length. The heart, of course, speaks of shared love. The deep blue-violet of the tanzanite recalls the sea they crossed on their honeymoon. As for the small sapphires slipped into the halo of diamonds, they represent their children and grandchildren: a pink sapphire here, a blue sapphire there, like so many dear presences nestled around the centre.
The choice of metal remained. Yellow gold seemed too ordinary to mark this half-century. Platinum was the obvious answer: noble, rare, with a whiteness that never changes. The project was agreed, and all that was left for me to do was to begin.
Tanzanite, platinum and sapphires: a trio that demands true craftsmanship
Before describing the making, I would like to say a word about these materials, because they explain many of the choices made at the bench.
Tanzanite is one of the rarest gemstones in the world. It was discovered in 1967 by a Maasai herdsman at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, and it is found only in a very small area of northern Tanzania, a mine of roughly 20 km². It was Tiffany & Co. that gave it its commercial name, in tribute to its country of origin. It also has a fascinating property, trichroism: depending on the angle and the light, it reveals flashes of blue, violet and sometimes indigo. On the other hand, its hardness of 6.5 on the Mohs scale makes it more fragile than sapphire or diamond. The setting must therefore be designed to protect it.
Platinum is denser than gold (21.45 g/cm³ against 19.32) and far more resistant to wear. Hypoallergenic, it does not tarnish and keeps its natural whiteness without any rhodium plating. Its melting point reaches 1,768 °C, nearly 700 degrees higher than gold: working it calls for suitable tools and experience.
Sapphires belong to the corundum family. We readily associate them with blue, but they also exist in pink, yellow, orange, violet… For this pendant I chose pink and blue sapphires, calibrated to fit into the halo. With a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale, they will last for decades without a worry. The diamonds, for their part, bring the light. Every stone was sorted under a x10 loupe: clarity, colour, calibration.
Making the platinum pendant in my workshop
My client's drawing was first translated into precise plans, at 1:1 scale, taking into account the exact dimensions of the tanzanite. Each stone position was calculated to a tenth of a millimetre. Nothing is left to chance when such a sensitive stone has to find its place.
I then melted the platinum at 1,768 °C, in a refractory ceramic crucible. The metal was cast into an ingot, rolled into sheet, then cut with a piercing saw to outline the general shape of the heart. The central mount was built from platinum wire, bent to measure. I opted for a rub-over setting: a fine band of metal wraps around the tanzanite. This technique protects it from knocks while holding it firmly in place.
Around the heart, I prepared the seats for the small stones with a drill, then with a conical bur. This stage demands extreme precision: one false move, and the stone would not hold properly.
Then comes the moment of setting, the part I love most and dread a little at the same time. The tanzanite was seated in its rub-over setting, then the platinum band was pressed down over the stone with my burnisher, with measured pressure so as not to weaken it. The diamonds and sapphires were then mounted in grain setting, using the graver and the beading tool. It was in this way that the halo, luminous and colourful, took shape before my eyes.
The bail was made last, soldered with the flame. I set a tiny green sapphire in it, a discreet nod that only those who know the secret will notice. Finally, the pendant was polished with felt and cotton, until the platinum took on its soft, deep lustre.
The moment the couple saw the jewel
When the couple saw the finished pendant, their eyes misted over. I said nothing: there was nothing to add. Fifty years of history now rested in a platinum heart, with the sea of their honeymoon at the centre and their family all around. Moments like this are the ones that remind me why I am a jeweller.
If you have a project for a personalised jewel to mark a date that matters, a sketch scribbled on paper, an idea that is still taking shape, or simply the wish to talk it over, come and push open the door of my workshop in Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire. We will take the time to imagine your next creation together.
