There are some months I have participated at incitiation at gemology. This activity is offered by the house of Tournaire. The offer is tempting, if not unprecedented: an entrance at reasonable prices in a jewelry Place Vendôme, the time of one hour of exciting discovery of the world of stones!
Waiting for the start of the class, I admire the windows. The pieces from “Architecture” collection are impressive and arouse curiosity. The tourist cities are represented by their monuments across the hand to be worn on the finger. Secretly, we begin to imagine our favorite place immortalized in a unique and precious jewel. This expertise is also exploited through watches, wonderful windows of the watch mechanism and architectural forms. We remember our padlock hanging bridges grids major cities of our romantic escapades through the collection “Lock & Love”. A nostalgic mood takes us back to ancient gardens with “Wild Thoughts”. We find in juxtapositions guidelines of shapes, colors and volumes of the collection “Marelie” as well as the iconic symbol of the brand, the Trinity, in the collection “Alchemy”, composed of the triangle, square and circle or the past, present and future.
Tournaire the house offers a fresh, original image of the jewelry on the Place Vendome. His story begins 40 years ago. Philippe Tournaire, sculpture enthusiast and self-taught, never learned the jeweler’s craft. This is where it gains in openness, modernity and authenticity. In his small workshop at home, it touches a clientele seeking outstanding. He opened his first shop in Montbrison in 1984, then a second to Lyon in 1999. The shop – the consecration, in a way – is positioned on the Place Vendôme in 2004. The brand is now developing on Paris and the ‘international. Jewelery Philippe Tounaire is typical on many other points. The passion and the father of expertise are passed to Mathieu, training gemologist. The workshop consists of twenty people, realizes while France, from design to finish. There are no periodic launches of collections; importance is given to instinct and felt creators, as well as customers in search of customization. Other feats! Who would have dared to combine skiing or petanque balls to jewelry? These prestigious collaborations, combining the promotion of French expertise in all sectors and support for health associations, make it an exceptional brand.
In late September, the Tournaire house proposes two artistic associations, technical and human incomparable and detonating: jewelry and rum for the Association for Information and Prevention of Sickle Cell; and jewelery and headphones for the benefit of the P’tit Louis association.
Rhum Clement is a recognized brand for French premium spirits and is among the most exported. She was born in 1887 in Martinique and sits on the Habitation Clement. This Creole building of the eighteenth century is the emblem of the brand. It is natural that it will be miniaturized by Tournaire house in an architectural jewel taking the stopper function. L’Habitation closes new crystal bottle containing the precious Baccarat 1966 vintage, rare and never commercialized. The exclusive version of the plug is yellow and red gold with a total weight of 200 g, and has more than 4 carats of diamonds set on roofs and ledges. Corks numbered 8 other bottles into art bronze, patinated by hand, plated yellow and red gold.
For over 35 years, Focal, French company based in Saint-Etienne, is recognized as a world leader in the manufacture of high-fidelity solutions (speakers, loudspeakers, car audio systems, speakers monitoring, audiophile headphones) . Focal Tournaire and collaborated in the creation of an original helmet, “Utopia by Tournaire.” It is marked with the imprint of the Trilogy, set in yellow gold set with 750 thousandths 6 carats of diamonds in total, all fully hand shaped. The helmet is a limited edition and numbered to 8 pieces.
I come back to this time of initiation in gemology, especially the trainer. He had a notebook in brown leather cover and damaged pages, wore jewelry to iconic motifs of the brand and hid near him the brass model of a custom-designed ring. Imagine a person just out of his pocket a project of personalized ongoing creation. And this in the context of the Place Vendome! Can you conceive the idea? Our trainer was Mathieu Tournaire. Accessible personality jeweler creator giving courses allowed us to quickly disregard this situation … and understand the heart and mind of the house Tournaire. Considering the creative spirit of the house, what other challenge by Tournaire would you like see to take?
