From Florence to Paris to Tokyo, Joséphine de Staël draws on design and techniques from around the world to create a unique vision of the English countryside
Each jewel is individually designed and handcrafted by Joséphine de Staël, using the ancient techniques of lost wax casting and vitreous enamel.
Joséphine read Economics at Trinity College Cambridge and then followed her heart to study Luxury Management at Polimoda fashion school in Florence. Here Joséphine gained first hand experience of luxury business, visiting the workshops of Italy’s leading artisanal luxury firms, including Buccellati in Milano, and subsequently working at Hermès Italie. She returned to the UK to begin a PhD about luxury production based at the Victoria and Albert Museum and Royal College of Art. Joséphine moved to Paris to research the art of Parisian fine jewellery for her thesis. As part of the research process, she spent three years training full time at the prestigious Haute Ecole de Joaillerie in Paris. She obtained the French national qualifications in jewellery. Joséphine also worked in the archives of the famous jewellery houses of the Place Vendôme, including Chaumet and Van Cleef von Arpels. Her jewellery is inspired by the work and philosophy of these great jewellery houses, in particular the floral masterpieces of the great Joseph Chaumet.
In 2020 Joséphine obtained her PhD (Royal College of Art, 2020) and returned to the UK, bringing the techniques and creative flair she learnt in Florence and Paris to set up her own luxury business. Today she works between London and Cornwall, whose beautiful wild landscape is the inspiration for her floral jewellery. Inspired by her love of fragrance, Joséphine has created jewellery for Floris. She recently trained as a perfumer at the Grasse Institute of Perfumery.
Josephine and Edward Bodenham of Floris
Joséphine recently returned from lecturing at Tokyo University of the Arts. Her floral pieces are influenced by Japanese thinking on art and nature, and her current academic work focuses on the incense ceremony in Japan. Her ambition is to combine French and Japanese design and techniques to create unique, timeless pieces that encapsulate the magical quality of the English countryside.
Each piece in the collection is expertly hand carved from a block of wax. Joséphine is mentored by Paris’ most renowned wax sculptor, who has a lifetime experience working for the Parisian Haute Couture industry. The handmade wax sculptures are transformed into metal using the lost-wax process (cire perdue), whose origins lie in the bronze age. In this process, fine silver is poured into molds created from the fragile wax sculptures to create a cast that can be reworked into the final jewel.
The delicate flower charms available in the boutique are cast in sterling silver and plated in yellow or rose gold.
More elaborate enamel pieces are cast in sterling silver and enamelled using the finest Japanese enamels. Joséphine learnt the art of enamel from one of the last great masters in Limoges, the historic centre of goldsmiths in France. She went on to study cloisonné enamelling with some of the best artisans in Georgia, which was the birthplace of enamel in the 9th century. Her academic work examines the evolution of jewellery enamelling around the world as a result of cultural connotations surrounding light and colour. Enamel is a material made by fusing powdered glass to metal by firing at 800 degrees. The meticulous and precious process means every piece is unique to the wearer, an heirloom for generations.
Joséphine’s journey around the world as an artisan anthropologist learning to enamel
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Jean François Dehays in Limoges
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in Limoges
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in Limoges
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in Limoges
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in Limoges
Joséphine learnt enamelling from the great master Jean François Dehays in Limoges
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Georgia
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Georgia
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Georgia
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Georgia
