HONG KONG JEWELLERY: The Swinging Stones
"Innovative and unorthodox with a dose of elegant glamour, Paris-based emerging designer brand Marie Mas has been under the spotlight since its debut in January 2017 when the brand unveiled its first collection Swinging Stones during the Couture Week in Paris.
Fascinated by kinetic art, designer Marie Cabirou believes that jewellery can be more than just something to wear but living and moving with the wearer. The Swinging Stones collection was made in the concept of developing transformable jewellery that comes to life with every movement of the wearer.
Presenting nothing less than a pioneering technical fear, each piece of jewellery in the collection can be transformed and adapted to one's personality and desires. Gemstones on the jewellery are set back to back, with an ingenious mechanism that allows the gems to rotate and switch colours in a balletic domino effect.
Marie Cabirou told Hong Kong Jewellery that the main challenge she encountered when designing this collection was on the technical aspect. "It was all about developing new systems, and finding ways of giving life to jewellery", she aded.
"I have gone to great lengths to ensure that the jewellery present at their absolute best, from cutting to colour progression of stones. These finer details highlight the movement of the stones and provide a better shimmering effect and reflection," said Cabirou.
She also mentioned that all the clasps of her jewellery are given careful consideration as part of the jewellery design. In the Swiveling Necklace, for instance, an amethyst is deliberately set to conceal the clasp. The closing mechanism allows adjustment of the length of the necklace, from either a chocker to a 60 cm long necklace.
After studying at Ecole Duperré (College of Art, Design and Fashion) and IFM (French Fashion Institute) in Paris, Cabirou entered Christian Dior with Raf Simons in 2012, where she developed her jewellery design skills. She revealed that her long-cherished dream is to launch her own jewellery brand.
At Couture show in Las Vegas in 2017, the brand received "incredible and extremely promising" feedbacks both from fine jewellery buyers and the press. Currently selling the collection at Moda Operandi and Matchesfashion, Marie Cabirou plans for a global expansion of its retailers network. "I have already started working on the next collection for the next Couture show in 2018", she projects excitedly."
This article features Dancing Ring, Dancing Earrings, and Swinging Earrings.