FRED: Of vibrant colours, graphic arches and eternal sunshine
The French jeweller builds on its founder’s vision in its latest high jewellery collection
WHAT COULD BE MORE ESSENTIAL than sunlight? It is, after all, what sustains all life on earth. With it also comes the joy of colours in creation – vibrant and in every hue.
Perhaps it is no coincidence that Fred Samuel, founder of FRED Joaillier, always looked to sunlight as an inspiration. It was a reminder of the Argentinian sun under which he was born, as well as the French Riviera, the light and cheerful spirit of which he found irresistible. No wonder the Paris-based jeweller is also known as “The Sunshine Jeweller”.
This year, FRED’s 19 new high jewellery creations are anchored in these distinctive codes of colour and light. Named 1936 and Soleil d’Or Sunrise, the two chapters of this remarkable collection tell the story of the jeweller’s birth and its enduring signature – sunlight.
1936: A very good year
When his maison was founded in 1936, Fred Samuel was eager to create, championing a contemporary, versatile and joyful approach to jewellery. He chose Paris’ Rue Royale as the location for his first boutique, because its elegant arcades were typical of architecture in the Mediterranean and French Riviera that he loved.
Since then, the Art Deco arch has become one of FRED’s hallmark patterns and is also the inspiration for all four of 1936’s jewellery sets.
Across 10 different pieces, jubilant colours are played against geometric patterns to reveal elegant creations where the purity of stones and lustre of pearls shine through.
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Take, for instance, a remarkable Colombian emerald now handsomely set in the hollow of a majestic, upturned arch of a necklace. Around this exceptional stone of over 4 carats are baguette- and brilliant-cut diamonds, finished with a string of pearls interrupted only by the fire of more diamonds set in a variety of arches.
In the second set of jewels, the star is a 7.13-carat, cushion-cut royal blue Sri Lankan sapphire, which sits over a vault-like waterfall of diamonds in a graceful, fluid necklace.
Then there is the blazing pigeon-blood red of the Mozambique ruby that’s the centrepiece of the third set of jewellery. Here, the 3-carat, oval-cut stone takes pride of place in the middle of a supple choker – highlighting the curve of cascading arches filled with diamonds.
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Also in this chapter is a tribute to the cultured pearls admired by FRED’s founder – a long necklace adorned with delicate Akoya pearls, contrasting against the brilliance of pave diamonds in interlacing arches.
Soleil D’Or Sunrise: A golden dawn
In 1977, FRED acquired an exceptional yellow diamond of over 100 carats. Today, it infuses its solar luminosity in Soleil d’Or Sunrise – the second chapter.
Over nine creations, graphic, contemporary lines showcase the different shades of the sun, as captured at sunrise and at the day’s zenith. Each piece seeks to recreate the inclination of the sun’s rays as the day progresses, with diamonds shimmering as they drape across the skin.
The strands of a bib necklace set with white and yellow diamonds sit delicately on the decolletage, at the heart of which rests a 2-carat, fancy intense yellow diamond. This gorgeous piece is joined by another necklace where the sun is shown to be at its strongest. Both are accompanied by transformable rings, earrings and a matching brooch, thus completing the illumination that so bewitched the maison’s founder.
With its latest high jewellery collection, FRED again demonstrates why modern, jubilant and luminous creations are its hallmark – and why they continue to captivate us so much.
Discover more at fred.com or FRED boutique at Marina Bay Sands
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