This text is part of the special book Plaisirs
Jewellery, whether fashioned in gold or silver, set with diamonds or semi-precious stones, remains a safe bet to spoil loved ones. Are you eager for discoveries as elegant as they are original? Here are six jewelers from here and abroad, both emerging and veteran designers, who are making their mark, one jewel at a time.
Myel: passion for ethical materials
Myriam Elie founded a brand in her image, where artistic freedom rubs shoulders with the authenticity of a transparent approach. Focusing on local production and ethical materials, the Montreal designer likes, among other things, laboratory diamonds, with a lower environmental impact than mine diamonds, but “physically identical”, she explains. In addition to the very high-end pieces in her Fairmined collection, gold rings from independent, responsible and artisanal mines located in South America, she also creates more affordable silver jewelery in her workshop on rue Laurier.
Mara Paris: jewels with architectural lines
Architect-turned-designer Ayça Özbank Taşkan has been designing exceptional sculptural jewelry since 2015. Drawing her inspiration both from architecture, her first love, and from modern art, the designer, also a photographer in her spare time, has notably imagined a collection evoking the style of Picasso and Matisse and another in homage to Italian architect Carlo Scarpa. Finally, Paris, where she lives, offers her an inexhaustible source of inspiration of all kinds, she confides. “It is no coincidence that Mara Paris was born [à Paris] “, we also read on the brand’s website.
Scaro: when art and symbolism meet
Now based in Abitibi, Caroline Arbor, a native of Gaspé, draws her inspiration from “nature, symbolism and emotions”. The jeweler has thus made the beetle, considered a lucky charm in ancient Egypt, the emblem of her label. Moreover, the silhouette of this sacred insect can be guessed in many of his creations, from earrings to rings, including pendants. So many charms supposed to bring us luck!
Pilar Agueci: all in contrast
In her studio on rue Beaubien, Montrealer by adoption Pilar Agueci designs refined and versatile pieces that give pride of place to the metals, pearls and stones with which they are set. Inspirations: the raw materials she uses, quite simply. We inherited a ring or earrings with an old-fashioned invoice? Like many jewelers, Pilar Agueci, who learned her skills in Europe, offers to transform our family jewels into a timeless bespoke piece. Interesting !
Cadette: handcrafted jewelry
Toronto’s Allison Asis handcrafts — with the help of a small team of local artisans — each of the pieces that make up her collection. Of rare elegance, her jewels with a refined aesthetic – hard not to succumb to their charm! — combine precious metals (mainly gold and silver) with diamonds, of course, but also with pearls, opals or semi-precious stones for a touch of assumed romanticism. That’s it: we are seduced!
Amulette jewellery: an ode to the Nordic herbarium
Recognizable among all, the herbarium of gold and silver signed Bénédite Séguin immortalizes the relief of real plants (she has reproduced a hundred of them to date!) and transcends their essence thanks to a unique molding technique. “My approach aims to raise awareness of Quebec’s natural heritage and to help preserve this biodiversity,” she points out on her website. The jeweler thus offers a collection that showcases clustered flowers from the Lilac Garden in Cap-à-l’Aigle and another that reproduces specimens of orchids from the Montreal Botanical Garden. She is also inspired by boreal plants, such as western cedar or milkweed.