PAD Paris: 10 Jewels Not To Miss This Weekend

Dazzling art jewelry highlights from one of the world’s leading design fairs, which is on in Paris until April 6.

La Gloria earrings by Antonio Seijo, 2021, with mirrors, sapphires, tsavorites, paraiba tourmalines, ... More diamonds, 18K gold & silver, on show with Second Pétale at PAD Paris. GaryEdwards.es

The PAD Paris fair set up camp in the Jardin des Tuileries gardens April 2-6, bringing with it antique, 20th and 21st-century design treasures from a host of international galleries. PAD has been running since 1998 and remains the leading international art & design fair, with avid collectors browsing stands including a cohort of solo art jewelers and specialized art jewelry galleries.

Amongst those on show, French jewelry designer Elie Top has his own stand for the first time, as well as PAD regulars 5 Octobre, Karry Berryby and Arina Pouzoullic, of the Paris-based contemporary jewelry gallery Second Pétale, who back for her fourth showing at the fair. Pouzoullic has a strong line-up of artists around the theme of ‘Newphoria’, which she describes as a “creative dialog between the arts, highlighting innovation and exceptional craftsmanship.” It serves to illustrate the porous boundaries between different artforms that can result in exceptional jewelry creativity.

Giorgio B by Giorgio Bulgari

The Palma earrings, colored titanium and diamonds, on show with Second Pétale Gallery at PAD Paris

Second Pétale

Back for a second showing after rave reviews at last year’s show, Giorgio B is presenting new titanium additions to his signature collections, Goccia and Palma. Bulgari draws on his family heritage to blend artistry with precision in a whole new design language, creating modern, timeless jewelry that has seen success with collectors. The Palma ring, inspired by the palms in Kew Gardens in London, explores notions of form and volume in sensual, streamlined forms highlighted by the polished ridges of otherwise hand-brushed metal, while the companion earrings, above feature diamonds set in three different directions, to maximize light.

Hugo Cahill

The Phokiali ring by Hugo Cahill, on show with Second Pétale gallery at PAD Paris. Topaz, diamonds ... More and 18k gold. Hugo Cahill

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Second Pétale

A first-timer at PAD Paris, this Portugal-born, London-based jeweler creates avant-garde pieces using sculptural, asymmetric forms, plays on light, and carefully chosen gemstones. Cahill is showing his first high jewelry collection, Renaissance, along with selected pieces from his second; Chiaraoscuro, all crafted by master jewelers in Portugal. Mixed metals are a hallmark, as he explores different alloys along with texture and his signature reverse-set gems, inspired by geology to create exquisitely crafted jewels.

The Paulownia brooch, pink sapphires, plique-à-jour enamel, silver and gold, on show with Second ... More Pétale gallery at PAD Paris.

Second Pétale

The Spanish jeweler, who has work at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and the Museum of Arts & Design in New York amongst others, is a PAD regular. Fresh from TEFAF where she debuted a marquetry clutch bag with detachable gemstone brooch, created in collaboration with Silvia Furmanovich, her minutely detailed jewels on show at PAD include the ethereal enamel Paulownia brooch, and bronze and enamel Olive brooches, featuring tiny olives made from real olive wood.

Inesa Kovalova

The Flow earrings by Inesa Kovalova, titanium wire and white diamonds, on show with Karry Berryby at ... More PAD Paris. Inesa Kovaloval

Showing at PAD for the first time, the Ukrainian designer drew the crowds to the Karry Berreby stand at the Collector’s Preview for her architectural jewels. Kovalova, who is also the program director for Strong & Precious Foundation which promotes Ukrainian jewelry design talent, has a growing following for her arresting forms which straddle delicacy and complexity. She’s showing three magnificent pairs of earrings, which channel her elegant sense of form, and incredibly, weigh no more than 10 grammes each. Complex structures created using titanium wire and 3D-printed nylon, “allow the diamonds to sing,” says Kovalova, who adds that her jewels “need to look like they were made today.”

Nadia Morgenthaler

Platinum, white gold, opal and diamond earrings by Nadia Morgenthaler, on show with Second Pétale ... More gallery, at PAD Paris Nadia Morgenthaler

Second Pétale

This Geneva-based master jeweler’s work is delicate and feminine, with a strong sense of what the piece will feel like on the body. Fine pearl chandelier earrings collapse down to nothing, while a column of opal beads brings radiance to the face, in precision work inspired by such wide-ranging references as antique ironwork, the Belle Epoque and the architecture of the Maharajahs.

Jewelry including tourmaline slice rings by Sophie Pfeffer for 5 Octobre, on show at PAD Paris. Kate Matthams Spencer

This independent jewelry gallery on the Left Bank in Paris, has a niche for unusual stones in antique-inspired settings that feel wholly contemporary. For PAD this year, designer Sophie Pfeffer worked with watermelon tourmalines, to create a capsule collection that spotlighted the versatility of one of nature’s most spectacular gifts. Elsewhere, found objects and Ancient coins become jewels that carry a sense of history, inspired by travel and art.

Antonio Seijo

Opal ring by Antonio Seijo, 2023, with 4.73cts opal, diamonds, sapphires, tsavorites, 18K gold & ... More silver. On sho with Second Pétale gallery, at PAD Paris. GaryEdwards.es

Second Pétale

This multidisciplinary artist is debuting his jewelry work at PAD Paris this year, to the delight of Pouzoullic, his gallerist, who describes him as “a jewelry poet, a jewelry painter”. And his wide-ranging work is nothing if not colorful; a blaze of colored gemstones meet triangular forms in a dazzling pair of earrings inspired by a dream his grandmother recounted, while an opal is clasped in diamond claws in a gem-encrusted ring. Behind each jewel is a story, and his inspirations range from Egyptology and Indian mythology, to the desert. His most recent obsession has resulted in a brushed gold bangle ablaze with the radiance of a fire opal, which comes complete with the sound of the desert wind, thanks to the sand captured inside its hollow form.

Salima Thakker

Toi & moi ring by Salima Thakker, 18k gold and beryls, on show with Second Pétale at PAD Paris. Salima Thakker

Second Pétale

Precision engineering and artistry combine for this Belgian artist. Since last year’s Fair, Thakker has been busy evolving her signature Modular latticework cuffs, elevating them with diamonds in jewels with liquid suppleness. Elsewhere, her 3D-printed Labyrinth motif allows large gemstones to be set in a thoroughly modern manner, optimizing light and creating a relaxed feel through chunky volume and gems which could otherwise be overwhelming. Thakker makes all pieces herself, in her workshop in Antwerp.

Elie Top displayed his Dangerous Liaisons fine jewelry collection against chic grained silk at PAD ... More Paris. Kate Matthams Spencer

In just over a decade, Elie Top has brought his namesake brand of bold luxury jewelry to the dizzying heights of Parisian desirability. This consummate designer, who cut his teeth at YSL and Lanvin under Alber Elbaz before branching out on his own, takes the time to design each piece by hand with pencils and paper, producing glorious narrative stories. His new Dangerous Liaisons collection channels the opulent candlelight of a 19th century boudoir, with concave gold forms underneath diamonds and white gold lattice work.

VAK by Vishal Kothari

Arch of Heaven earrings by Vishal Kothari; rose-cut and brilliant-cut diamonds, amethyst, green ... More tsavorite, Burmese spinel, 18k white gold, on show with Second Pétale at PAD Paris. VAK by Vishal Kothari

Second Pétale

Formerly a diamond dealer, Vishal Kothari started the Indian jewelry house VAK 10 years ago, and now plays tribute to his homeland through traditional Indian craftsmanship at his in-house atelier, and a focus on the exceptional light and sparkle of rose and portrait-cut diamonds. His signature is shallow stones, which not only increases radiance, but also ensures the jewels move with the body, illustrated by a pair of drop earrings depicting the lifecycle of a flower from quivering bud to tiny, articulated petals that are alive with movement.

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