Delfina Delettrez on Her New Fine Jewelry Collection “Faceted”

by Paige Reddinger

At the Almene Rech gallery on rue du Turenne in Paris yesterday, Delfina Delettrez presented her latest jewelry collection titled “Faceted.” Each season Delettrez’s presentation is a must-see for editors and buyers. Why? Because they are genuinely works of art. This season the jewelry was displayed on ears and fingers that moved by themselves on mirrors that hung on the wall. There were even eye broaches that glided along the mirrors peering back at onlookers. Delettrez is a true artist in every way. It extends beyond her truly unique jewelry to her home and into her personal jewelry collection, which by the way includes a necklace made from human teeth. If you want to know more, you must read on…

Your jewelry displays move! How did you do that?
Magic!

Did you make it yourself?
I get involved with everything I do. All of my presentations are about a single brain thinking about it and then me and my team build everything in my courtyard.

The last time we saw you, you had moving android hand displays. What did you do with them?
Some of them I keep at home. I use some of these displays for personal things. For instance, I had a display from an old presentation that was like a conveyor belt, like the kind you might find at an industrial sushi bar, and I did a dinner with it at my home. I wanted to do a dinner with the levitating plate displays I had from another presentation, but the challenge was that you need to eat like a little bird off of them. But I also like to use the installations for my boutiques.

You have boutiques in Rome and London. What’s next?
Tokyo.

Tell us about the “engagement” nose rings.
I thought that it was time for us as young jewelers and as women to move on from the concept of the engagement ring and introduce everything from engagement earrings to engagement bracelets to engagement nose rings for a little bit of punk attitude for the young bride.

Nose rings are having a moment. When did you first introduce them to your collection?
I started working on nose rings last season. I called them the “little buttons,” because they were very minimal and subtle. I did them in three shapes: round, triangle, and square. Then I went more crazy with them and started using diamond baguettes for more of a tribal look, because it is a tribal adornment. I like the idea that instead of wearing masks you can wear your jewelry to create a different face. [Ed. Note: One nose ring in the new collection is in the shape of a mustache!]

Do you make jewelry for yourself? What’s in your personal collection?
I do. One of my favorite pieces is a big rose made of mother of pearl. Then I have some antique teeth from the 18th century.

Real teeth? As in human teeth?
Yes! I got them from an antique shop in Paris years and years ago. So I made them into jewelry and encased them in white so it was white on white and they kind of disappear a little bit. I even made a shirt with them. I made the collar out of the teeth. They actually look like pearls, but when someone gets close they discover that they are teeth. They look like baroque pearls, the irregular kind of pearls, in a way. But there is no difference really between what I make for myself and what I make for my clients. Even the two eye broaches in my new collection were something I wanted to make for myself. What I want to do now is to really work with my woman shoulder to shoulder. Each piece will be unique in the end.

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