PARIS — For jeweler Fred, everything comes down to light, befitting its “sunshine jeweler” moniker.
This year, it’s the house’s “first light” that inspired the latest high jewelry designs unveiled in May, with a red carpet debut on the likes of French actresses Mélanie Laurent and Joséphine Japy during the 78th Cannes Film Festival.
But at a preview in Paris in April, vice president and artistic director Valérie Samuel revealed it was not one but two distinct facets the 19-piece high jewelry lineup explored.
Necklace from the 1936 collection, in white gold, set with a 7.13-carat Ceylon sapphire and diamonds.
Courtesy of Fred
“The two collections complete each other by evoking two emblematic moments that have shaped Fred [as] the sunshine jeweler — the birth of the house in 1936 and the radiance of the ‘Soleil d’Or’ diamond,” she said.
For the first, it’s colored stones, pearls and a touch of Art Deco that are the bedrock of “1936,” a nod to the moment where an enterprising 28-year-old named Fred Samuel set up on Rue Royale as a jeweler.
Period-typical arches, evoking the arcade architectural feature of this tony Parisian street, were figured in the waterfall of grain- and claw-set diamonds central motif of an articulated necklace finished with a 7.13-carat Royal Blue cushion-cut sapphire from Sri Lanka.
Necklace from the 1936 collection, in white gold, set with a 3.63-carat Mozambique ruby and diamonds.
Courtesy of Fred
Similar diamond-set interlaced motifs lead the eye toward the 3.63-carat pigeon blood Mozambique ruby center stone of a choker necklace. They can also be found on another model featuring a 4.24-carat Colombian emerald.
Meanwhile, the pearls with a delicate rosy sheen used for a long sautoir style recalled the hue the young entrepreneur had developed through a relationship with Mikimoto.
In “Soleil d’Or Sunrise,” yellow diamonds are the stars of the show, for nine creations evoking the original “Soleil d’Or” stone.
Ball ring from the Soleil d’Or Sunrise collection, in white gold, set with a 1.01-carat diamond and diamonds; and Stackable ring from the Soleil d’Or Sunrise collection, in white and yellow gold, set with a 1.01-carat diamond and diamonds.
Courtesy of Fred
This is the 101.57-carat vivid intense yellow diamond now in the house patrimony.
In 1977, the house founder’s son Henri Samuel bought and sold in the space for a few weeks, keeping the yellow diamond just long enough for three things: to make it the centerpiece of a brief exhibition at its Parisian flagship; have it immortalized in the fingers of Margaux Hemingway; and to give it its name, because its bright happy hue reminded him of the light on the Riviera that the family patriarch so loved. The house repurchased it in 2021.
Rays of light seem to radiate from the 2.01-carat fancy intense yellow diamond on a bib necklace that drapes around the neck. Each branch plays on the subtle contrast brought by the mix of grain-set yellow stones and claw-set white ones, softening the geometric bursting design. Plus brilliant-cut diamonds are placed in such a way that their curve also plays into the design.
Necklace from the 1936 collection, in white gold, set with a 4.24-carat Colombian emerald and diamonds.
Courtesy of Fred
Elsewhere, it’s the play of yellow and white gold with white diamonds that telegraphs that idea of radiance on, say, a ring that espouses the shape of the finger.
Despite being two distinct stories, the ensemble is “an expression of the Fred style, with this harmony, this duality between the organic and the graphic,” said Valérie Samuel.
And if 19 pieces sounds like an unusually small proposal when others unveil hundreds-strong collections, it’s what fits this jeweler.
“We have chosen to talk about the different [facets] of Monsieur Fred’s personality and moments of his life,” said chief executive officer Vincent Reynes. “We prefer to do less but ensure that the message is all the clearer.”
Bib necklace from the Soleil d’Or Sunrise collection, in white and yellow gold, set with a 2.01 “Fancy Intense Yellow” diamond and yellow and white diamonds.
Courtesy of Fred
In a market where competition is fierce, offering focused collections with a precise theme is key to standing out and catching the eye. After all, “there’s no luxury without stories,” as far as the executive is concerned.
The one the Parisian jeweler wants to continue burnishing is that while Fred offers popular fine jewelry pieces like its bestselling Force10 bracelets, high jewelry is its forte from the get-go.
Tapping the early years of the brand — here or in previous collections that alighted on Fred Samuel’s youth — are the ideal way to materialize the intersection of “the past, what makes the house, creativity and its future,” said the executive. “That tension is extremely interesting to us.”
The approach has served Fred well.
Although Reynes declined to divulge any figures, he said high jewelry was one of the categories growing the fastest for the French jeweler, which is owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
And that’s not just good for business.
“There’s a very high demand from high-potential clients who are extremely important for luxury houses,” the executive said. “Not only because they buy but also because they push to create more and better.”