Wings Of Imagination

In an interview with Prestige Singapore in Hong Kong, Tiffany & Co chief artistic director NATHALIE VERDEILLE reveals how renowned Tiffany designer Jean Schlumberger inspired her second high jewellery collection for the house.

- LYNETTE KOH

In its recent high jewellery collections, Tiffany & Co has been going to the extremes: last year, the New York house took fans on a deep dive into the oceans with its marine-inspired Blue Book 2023: Out of the Blue collection. This year, Tiffany looks up to the heavens with its latest, and largest to date, high jewellery collection, Blue Book 2024: Tiffany Céleste. Featuring 157 stunning pieces, Tiffany Céleste takes its cues from the cosmos and constellations.

What both collections do have in common, aside from stunning artistry and equally stunning gemstones, is that they were inspired by the creations and sketches of renowned Tiffany designer Jean Schlumberger. Working with Tiffany from the 1950s to the '70s, Schlumberger was the brand's first named designer and remains one of its most well-known. In Hong Kong in June for the summer presentation of Tiffany Céleste, Prestige Singapore was given a rare walk-through of the new creations by Nathalie Verdeille, Tiffany's chief artistic director of jewellery and high jewellery.

Since joining the company in 2021 following LVMH's acquisition of Tiffany -the French industry veteran, who last served as a creative head at Cartier and Chaumet, has used Schlumberger as a focal point. Verdeille, a statuesque blonde who is casually elegant in a black pantsuit at the media showcase held at Hong Kong's Sky100 Observation Deck, shared, "I really enjoy what Schlumberger did. He had a lot of freedom to create, which is something that is actually quite unusual at other jewellery companies. I love the themes he used, because they could be super abstract and modern, and, at the same time, really figurative and traditional."

LOOKING SKYWARD