On the runway to success - MCH Group

JEWELLERY PAGE 30
■ NEWS.TRENDS
Philippe Tournaire likes to call
himself a ‘jewellery builder’ and is
renowned for his architectural rings. At
BASELWORLD 2012, Philippe Tournaire
is unveiling his version of the
Eiffel Tower in the form of the ‘French
Kiss’ solitaire ring. “Having always
been fascinated by the Eiffel Tower,
the lady of iron, a great, powerful and
proud lady, I decided to return one
day to get a better look. I was overcome
with the desire to place precious
stones between its four square
corners.” The Eiffel Tower is a place
where lovers meet and so the idea of
the ‘French Kiss’ ring was born. (kb)
2.0, F 50
‘French Kiss’ ring, available in
yellow, rose or white gold.
Vendôme is the name of the new
collection from the traditional Italian
company, Fope. These jewellery
items are based on a pure yet
elegant style. The collection includes
chains, bracelets and rings in 750
gold which impress with their unique
Fope mechanism, based on gold
springs. The design department spent
many months devising this flexible
and thin meshwork under the direction
of Fope president Umberto Cazzola.
Fope has already applied for
a patent to cover this new groundbreaking
technology. (ahe) 2.2, E71
Fope bracelet.
Vianna from Brasil offers sophisticated,
contemporary, shiny and colourful
jewellery. Four generations ago,
the Vianna family took the first steps
towards making jewellery. Now, with
over 20 years of experience, Vianna
Brasil has been growing, evolving and
strengthening its brand worldwide. A
talented team of designers continues
to follow the brand’s DNA and draws
its inspiration to create these innovative
collections from the family’s heritage.
It comprises the wide-ranging
colours of Brazil. (cete) 2.1, L60
Coloured
gemstone
earrings.
Founded on principles of classic
goldsmith techniques and pride
in artisanship, the family-run
jewellery company of Ole Lynggaard
Copenhagen is the most
prestigious high-end brand in
Scandinavia today. Ole Lynggaard’s
daughter, Charlotte Lynggaard,
is the creative director
and designer of the company, her
husband Michel Normann the
CCO, and Ole Lynggaard’s son,
Søren Lynggaard, is the CEO of
the company. We spoke with
Søren Lynggaard.
BWDN: When did you first know
you would make the luxury jewellery
business a part of your life?
Søren Lynggaard: The jewellery
business has been a part of my
life since I was a child. My father
established Ole Lynggaard
Copenhagen in 1963, and I have
helped building stands on fairs
since I could lift a hammer.
I joined the company full-time in
1994.
BWDN: Being the CEO of a luxury
jewellery company, what is
luxury to you?
Lynggaard: Luxury is being able to
buy something that you have
dreamt of for some time as a gift
or for yourself.
SATURDAY. MARCH 10. 2012
When fairytales come true
Ole Lynggaard Copenhagen appeals to poetry with handcrafted jewellery
Happily for all lovers of rare
golden Palawan South Sea pearls,
two men − the French perliculture
specialist and former pilot
Jacques Branellec and the Filipino
businessman Manuel Cojuangco
− met in 1979 and founded
the Jewelmer brand in Manila.
Their vision: in the turquoise
waters of the Palawan archipelago
they planned to produce the most
lustrous South Sea pearls in the
Søren Lynggaard of Ole Lynggaard Copenhagen.
BWDN: What is the profile of the
consumer that the company is
targeting today?
Lynggaard: We are focusing at the
top 2% of the quality-conscious
young women of all ages.
BWDN: What do you think consumers
are looking for today?
Lynggaard: I think women want
jewellery with a distinguished
design; jewellery that they themselves
are able to customize for
different occasions. We have tried
to make jewellery with this aim
since 1979, when my farther invented
his clasp system for necklaces.
BWDN: Where do you see the company
heading in the next five years?
Lynggaard: We have high ambitions:
We want to be the preferred
luxury brand for the quality-conscious
customer, who is looking
for Scandinavian jewellery design.
We aim to sell our jewellery collection
in the top 250 European
stores, and we want a close and
dedicated relationship with our
sales partners.
BWDN: In the company’s universe
− what are you most proud of?
Lynggaard: I love being a part of
a family-run business and manufacturing
beautiful products that I
am extremely proud of; being a
part of a fantastic team of dedicated
colleagues who work hard
on making the Ole Lynggaard
Copenhagen dream come true.
I am also very proud of the fact
that we maintain a large production
in Denmark produ
cing Danish design in Denmark.
This correlates with
our values: Passion, joy of
life, confidence, uniqueness,
quality and efficiency. Our focus
at BASELWORLD this year is a
new series from my sister Charlotte
Lynggaard. It is called ‘My
Little World’, and it is a new
charm concept that has proven a
fantastic future from the sales in
Scandinavia.
An opulent homage to Monet
Jewelmer presents finest South Sea pearls in a broad spectrum of collections
Gaelle Branellec, creative director and produc-
tion manager with her cousin Pierre Fallourd,
Jewelmer’s assistant managing director.
world. A task that they have more
than mastered in the course of
the past 33 years. The two visionaries
have invested over three
decades of experience, time, commitment
and the know-how of
numerous marine biologists. And
with success: to date, the Philippine
pearl brand is known worldwide
not only for its pearl farming
but also as a manufacturer of
fine pearl jewellery. Jewelmer is
the leading producer of exquisite
and rare golden Palawan South
Sea pearls and thereby the most
prominent supplier in the world
market. Co-operation with wellknown
luxury goods companies
and participation in international
fairs have become par for the
course. Above all, Jewelmer operates
a whole string of fine pearl
jewellery retail boutiques in the
Philippines and has a trade and
retail presence in Dubai, Hong
Kong, Melbourne and Paris.
At BASELWORLD 2012 the Philippine
company is providing an
overview of its current jewellery
collection. The bandwidth here is
broad: in some cases the golden
shimmering pearls are combined
with intricate diamond pavée or
additional mother-of-pearl elements
in the form of blossoms. In
contrast, other lines are purist in
style or draw inspiration from
church windows or floral forms.
Highlights brought to Basel by
Jewelmer include the Giverny collection,
created from the finest
South Sea pearls, yellow gold and
diamonds, which represents an
opulent homage to the garden of
impressionist Claude Monet.
Finding perfect gems
Only a fraction of the pearls
farmed by Jewelmer are used for
the company’s own jewellery,
however. The majority of the
marine beauties cultivated in the
farms in southern Palawan are
sold to international pearl jewellery
manufacturers as raw materials,
as assistant managing director
Pierre Fallourd reports. These
vary in size between 8 and 19 millimetres,
with the greatest demand
for pearls between 11 and 16 millimetres.
As with all types of pearl
farming, the cultivation of the
golden Palawan South Sea pearl is
dependent upon the ideal con-
BWDN: Looking back, how would
you say your approach towards
business has evolved/matured?
Lynggaard: The most important
lesson I have learned from my
farther is to be able to delegate
responsibility to others. In my
opinion keeping a focused strategy,
staying faithful to the company
values and having great visionary
designers − in our case my
sister Charlotte and my father Ole
Lynggaard − is what is takes to
become a success.
Interview by Nina Hald ■
Lotus rings – two red and one white gold ring
with diamonds, a moonstone and two shades
of topaz.
stellation of a number of different
factors: clean water, a healthy
marine ecosystem, ideal temperatures
and the right mussel. “As
the shape, size and colour of the
pearls is determined mainly by
nature, no two pearls are the
same,” says Fallourd. “The task of
finding perfect gems from thousands
is a daunting one − an art
and a science in itself.” (cete) ■
3.1, L46
Gaelle Branellec shows a necklace from the
Giverny collection.