After “Isola Madre”, the first part of the Haute Joaillerie collection that pays tribute to the Borromean Islands, like a return to Mellerio’s Italian roots (whose home village is just a few kilometers away as the crow flies), the second opus that Laure-Isabelle Mellerio has imagined in 2018 is dedicated to the spectacular, famous and aptly named “Isola Bella”.
Chosen in the 17th century by the Borromeo family as an expression of their power and wealth, it is today one of the finest examples of Italian Baroque architecture and gardens. It took several waves of work, sometimes spanning more than 30 years between the 17th and 20th centuries, to turn this lakeside island into a veritable flagship erected to the glory of the Borromeo family.
At the bow stands their monumental palace, and at the stern the sumptuous terraced gardens, at the top of which was built an imposing belvedere almost 40 metres high.
Extraordinary architecture, visionary and daring design, importation of rare and faraway species, ingenious hydraulic systems… everything was done by the different generations of the Borromeo family to transform the natural qualities of a simple rock into an enchanted and sophisticated garden.
All these elements have guided Laure-Isabelle Mellerio in the creation of this collection of eight pieces divided into three sets. Each one is unique, evoking the lacy boxwood patterns of a garden, the superimposition of plant terraces, the multitude of colors in flowerbeds, or the follies of Baroque architecture.
Laure-Isabelle Mellerio, who is particularly fond of contrasts, volumes and colors, has immersed herself in the splendor of seventeenth-century Italian living. Whether elaborate, architectural, colorful, geometric, transformable, curving or scrolling, the pieces in this collection draw on all Mellerio’s great expertise.
This line was imagined from the boxwood lace of the garden on the south side of the island. They form such a beautiful pattern that Laure-Isabelle Mellerio chose to draw her inspiration almost literally. Each piece – the pendant (which can be worn on a double black satin cord or a longer chain), the pair of earrings and the ring that harmoniously covers the entire phalanx – is designed from these plant arabesques.
Always in search of the perfect symbiosis with nature that has made the Maison Mellerio famous at so many points in its history, each precious stone – diamonds and emeralds alike – is set using the “millegrain” technique to evoke boxwood foliage as closely as possible. This particular setting, very much in vogue during the Belle Epoque, is today once again highly appreciated for the delicate, refined allure it confers on the jewel.
Its different layers of diamonds, sapphires and mother-of-pearl are superimposed like the terraces of the garden, its silhouette evokes a Baroque motif found in large numbers throughout the palace (cartouches, frames, mosaics), and the choice of mother-of-pearl and fine pearls was inspired by the omnipresence of shells on the island: in the grottoes of the “cool rooms” (a curiosity found in some Italian palaces) built in the basement of the palace right at lake level, are completely covered with stucco and tufa sculpted in the shape of pebbles and shells, also found in the arches of the spectacular belvedere overlooking the island’s gardens. The lines are fluid, like the movement of lake water.
Each of the three rings that make up the earrings can be disassembled at will.
During one of her walks through the gardens of Isola Bella, Laure-Isabelle Mellerio was struck by the originality of the large obelisks that crown the belvedere. In just a few sketches, these voluminous earrings came to life in the sketchbook she keeps with her at all times.
True to the original, they feature four cascading tiers of custom-cut gemstones (tsavorites, pink sapphires and spessartite garnets). Each is linked by diamond-paved rose gold posts. The necklace is made in the same way. For the ring, on the other hand, Laure-Isabelle Mellerio has favored generous, round volumes, gaily shimmering bright colors between rose gold scrolls.
It’s in this collection, composed of a necklace, a pair of earrings and a ring, that the colorful style dear to Laure-Isabelle Mellerio is most apparent: she has chosen to play together the orange of spessartite garnets, the pink of sapphires and the bright green of tsavorites, for a joyful, shimmering score!
From this island of unbridled charm, built by the illustrious Borromeo family and today a symbol of Italian refinement, christened by Charles III after his wife “Isola Isabella” (hence its current name “Isola Bella”), it was inevitable that one day Laure-Isabelle would also turn her attention to all these treasures, to create jewels of a different, even more precious kind…
Cette publication est également disponible en :
