Fawaz Gruosi draws on this unique creativity in the challenge – the challenge to outdo again and again. The challenge to find extraordinary gems which, once glorified, will give birth to a haute joaillerie piece that is unique in the world.
Every day, Fawaz Gruosi and his team thus get down to unearthing the finest stones on the planet, to portray the imagination of the de GRISOGONO designer. A bold strategy that goes against the tide – most jewellers design their collections on acquired precious stones not the reverse -, with ever-increasing difficulties in procuring very high quality gems.
Their name really does not do semi-precious stones justice. Unique in their own way, these fine stones have their roots in the same mines as rubies, emeralds and other diamonds. With a superb range of colours, some tourmalines are so pure that they become priceless, sometimes exceeding the diamond price.
An ancient Egyptian legend has it that tourmalines draw their variety of colour from their travels along rainbows. Commonly known as the rainbow stone, the name of this gem actually originates in Singhalese, meaning literally “stone with miscellaneous colours”.
Some tourmalines also have a uniformity of tone and a near-perfect depth that can sometimes put certain rubies and other sapphires in the shade.
A totally unique combination of features, particularly rare and therefore highly sought after in the world of precious stones, which renders tourmalines so exclusive in jewellers’ eyes. From the “paraiba” mines in Brazil comes the most beautiful variety of tourmalines, stones virtually inclusion-free and with incomparable sparkle, especially in the pastel blue colours.
Hardly surprising therefore that de GRISOGONO is interested in these extraordinary stones. Driven by this constant creative momentum, Fawaz Gruosi has a new-found enthusiasm for a particular stone from the tourmaline family – the rubellite. The bright, deeply-red rubellite echoes the ruby, yet with a duller sparkle and a certain elegance. This love at first sight has given birth this year to a splendid collection of timeless chic featuring varying sizes of rubellite, all of outstanding quality.
The soft, pastel colour of pink coral makes it one of the loveliest materials used by jewellers. One of the rarest too. Living only in the South Seas, especially around Japan, this organic gem differs from its fellows through its so-called “angel skin” tone and the difficulties in procuring it. With very slow growth, pink coral lives two to three hundred metres deep and can only be harvested in very small quantities, which makes its regulated extraction highly complex, involving in particular the use of small submarines fitted with sophisticated technology.
To this is added the very specific cut of coral branches. Totally opaque in its raw state, coral only brightens and reveals its shaded colour tones at the polishing stage, in the hands of experts exclusively. Excessive cutting can thus damage the calcium and unveil less than elegant veins, thereby spoiling the quality of the gem.
So many obstacles which make this noble material even more valuable. Faithful to its philosophy, de GRISOGONO brand keeps constantly in touch with local coral extraction and cutting companies, thereby acquiring not just the best volumes but also the shades meeting the creativity criteria of Fawaz Gruosi, a very soft pink reminiscent of an angel’s skin. A coral colour that is virtually impossible to find these days and the most sought after in haute joaillerie.
Patience, demand and perseverance. de GRISOGONO has thus managed to design extraordinary and totally exclusive pieces in pink coral transformed by an incredibly fine setting.
