René Lalique

I thought I'd share a little about one of my favourite jewellery designers, René Lalique. He was born in 1860 in rural France and by the turn of the century at age 40 he was one of the most celebrated jewellers in the world, renowned as an art nouveau artist and designer.

At age 16 René became an apprentice to one of Paris's leading jewellers at that time, Louis Aucoc, and whilst working there he studied at the Ecole des Arts Decorative.

In 1887 he went to college in Sydenham, England and on his return to Paris he worked designing jewellery for a relative and also spent time studying under the sculpture Justin Lequien

By 1881 René was working as a freelance jewellery designer for such names as Cartier and Boucheron. Lalique's designs were greatly influenced by the natural world.

He used many materials not generally used in the making of high end jewellery such as glass, horn, semi-precious gemstones, enamel and pearls

Lalique only used expensive gemstones if they enhanced what he was creating, his jewellery was not designed as a carrier for expensive stones, each individual piece was a wearable work of art in its own right.

From a design perspective he had the mind of a true artist and from a goldsmithing perspective his skill was astonishing!