The Parisian jeweller Lydia Courteille continues to delight and amaze with her dreamy new collection Deep Sea, which sees seahorses and crabs transformed into theatrical jewels inspired by the underwater world.
Courteille has used sapphires and amethysts to create a dégradé effect, which gives the impression that one colour melts into the next, from pink to violet to purple to blue. With diamonds for eyes, seahorses have been depicted wearing bejewelled crowns, their disarmingly cute, loveheart-shaped mouths and spiky bodies crafted with exceptional attention to detail.
Briolette diamonds and amethysts sway gently from the end of earrings and necklaces, adding another dimension of movement to these charming creatures. But it is the opals, which look like portals into a deep-sea world, that make these jewels so remarkable. One of Courteille's favourite gems, they have been meticulously chosen for their unique iridescence.
Animals are a recurring theme for Courteille, who has featured bats, frogs, spiders and turtles in previous collections. All of her jewels have an element of fantasy about them, brought to life with spectacular gemstones, which she sources herself from all over the world. Enter her boutique at 231 rue Saint Honoré, in the heart of Paris' jewellery district, and the universe according to Lydia Courteille is revealed in all its mysterious beauty.