Published on by Olivier Maupas-Sehikyan · Rings
A bespoke leaf ring born from family jewellery
They came in one afternoon, a little hesitant, carrying several pieces of family jewellery. Pieces handed down from generation to generation, full of memories, yet no longer worn by anyone. They told me quite simply: we cannot part with them, and we cannot leave them lying at the bottom of a drawer.
I listened to them for a long time, in my workshop in Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire, near Nantes. What they were looking for was not just another piece of jewellery. They wanted a way of bringing these objects back to life: a single jewel that would gather together what each of their elders had left behind, and that they could finally wear. That, in a few words, is the meaning of a bespoke leaf ring: starting from an existing story in order to write its next chapter.
As we talked, I laid the pieces out one by one on my workbench. Some were damaged, others still lovely, all bearing the mark of the hands that had cherished them. I confess that, that day, I felt the weight of a rare trust. Transforming a family heirloom is unlike any other work: there is no room for error.
From dismantling to design: an oval sapphire and diamonds
Before drawing anything, I needed to understand what these jewels held. So I carefully dismantled each piece, then sorted the stones under a loupe, in good light. The oval sapphire was an immediate choice for the centre stone: a deep colour, a soft shape, a quiet presence. The smaller diamonds had their part to play all around it.
I still had to find the idea. As we talked, nature came up several times, and I suggested a leaf. Why a leaf? Because it is reborn every spring, and because it clings to its branch as one generation holds on to the one before. This symbol of renewal and transmission said exactly what they had in mind, without their having to put it into words.
I drew the outline, slightly asymmetrical so that the leaf would seem alive, then the veins, and the place of the sapphire at the centre. The sapphire, for the strength of love. The diamonds, aligned along the veins, for light. When I placed the sketch in front of them, there was a long silence, then a smile, then a "yes" without a single change requested.
Why 18-carat yellow gold
The choice of metal was hardly a choice at all. The 18-carat yellow gold came from the old pieces themselves. Keeping it meant keeping the very substance of their memories: the same gold, simply shaped differently. Its warmth also sat beautifully with the blue of the sapphire, while the diamonds found a luminous setting in it.
Melting the gold, setting and polishing: the work in the workshop
All of the making took place in my workshop, with no intermediary. I began by modelling the leaf in wax, to check the proportions, the thickness of the veins and the comfort on the finger. Once the model was approved, the reclaimed gold was melted, then cast and finished by hand. It is a stage I particularly love: the old metal turns liquid, then takes shape again, and one genuinely feels one is witnessing a rebirth.
The mount had to remain slender, almost light, despite the stones. So I spent long hours with the file, then the rough shaping, then the finishing, until the curves were harmonious. Nothing was to look heavy. The leaf had to seem to rest on the hand, not to be fixed to it.
Then comes the most delicate moment: the setting. Each stone is seated in its housing, then held by tiny gold claws that are closed with very fine tools. The sapphire calls for patience, as its oval shape requires claws that are evenly spaced. The diamonds demand great regularity so that the line of the veins stays crisp. The whole must be beautiful, of course, but also sturdy: a jewel made to be worn every day has to withstand the years.
Polishing brought the work to a close. I carried it out in stages, from the coarsest grade to the finest, until the gold took on that soft lustre which brings out the stones. Then one last clean, one last look under the loupe, and the sapphire and diamond leaf ring was ready.
Handing over the ring: the emotion of a rediscovered heirloom
On the day the couple returned, I had placed the ring on a small cushion near the window, where the morning light is at its loveliest. I watched them approach. They said nothing. Then their eyes lit up, and I understood that the leaf had found its place.
They recognised the sapphire, of course. But what moved them most, I believe, was finding the gold of their old jewels in this new form. The memories had not vanished: they had simply changed setting. They spoke of those who had worn these pieces before them, in simple words, with slightly trembling voices. I chose to stay silent and let them live that moment.
I keep from this creation a reward that neither the hours of work nor the technique can give: seeing people find, in an object made from their own memories, a bond with those they love. That is why I chose this profession.
Transforming your old jewellery near Nantes
If you too have jewellery you no longer wear, whether damaged, out of fashion or simply too full of history to be forgotten, come and talk to me at the workshop in Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire. We will look at the pieces together, with no obligation, and see what they might become. Perhaps a leaf, perhaps something else entirely: what matters is that the jewel reflects who you are and stays with you for many years.
