Avant-garde Parisian jewellery designer Lydia Courteille's career was by no means mapped out for her. A graduate in biochemistry, it was a strange twist of fate that saw her become first an expert in antiques, fêted by the international fashion pack, then a jewellery designer. Her thirst for knowledge and passion for gemmology has made her one of the most original designers at work today, with back catalogue full of the weird and wonderful, including skeletons, crocodiles, chimps, sultans, bunnies and sea horses. If you haven't already visited, the next time you are in Paris, stop by her boutique on rue Saint-Honoré to experience the magical world of Lydia Courteille first hand.