News | February 5, 2016

Peak Into Lydia Courteille’s Queen Of Sheba Collection

News | February 5, 2016

By Rosa Sanchez

Lydia Courteille, a Parisian luxury jewelry designer in business for over thirty years just launched her newest line, “Queen of Sheba”, inspired by all thing beautiful and with deep cultural roots. A lover of history, nature, and gemology, Courteille’ passion for antique jewelry lies on making fairy-tale inspired one-of-a- kinds. With dark humor, baroque styling, and surreally detailed and imaginative finishes, her compositions are undeniably unique and lavishly stunning.

Lydia Courteille Ring 18k brown rhodium gold, tsavorites, opals and green tourmaline

Coveted and requested everywhere from couture runways to Woody Allen movies and brand collaborations, Lydia’s work can be seen in luxury Jewelery shops worldwide. High-profile fans include luxury designer Karl Lagerfeld, who dubbed Courteille “a genius for making Jewelery,” and that is an opinion we should all trust.

Lydia Courteille Ring 18k black rhodium gold, brown diamonds, yellow sapphires, tsavorites and onyx

The collection holds 18 pieces: 1 tiara, 9 rings, 7 earrings and 1 bracelet. The materials used to make the pieces are: black and brown rhodium plated gold 18k, green and yellow tourmalines, yellow sapphires, brown and white diamonds, tsavorites, peridots and opals.

Lydia Courteille Tiara 18k black rhodium gold, brown diamonds, yellow sapphires, tsavorites and peridot

The inspiration behind the collection comes from a variety of different cultural references such as tribes and legends:

The first inspiration is that of the Morsi Tribes, which lived in the remote Omo Valley and were called “Flower Men”, hence the floral-inspired portrait of a young man on one of Lydia’s rings.

Lydia Courteille Ring 18k brown rhodium gold, tsavorites and green tourmaline

Another inspiration was the Ark of the Covenant: wooden clad chest containing the tablets on which the Ten Commandments are said to be engraved. According to various texts, the Ark containing the tablets, is currently conserved in the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, in Axum.

Lydia Courteille Earrings in 18k black rhodium gold, diamonds, yellow sapphires, tsavorites, peridots, opals and green tourmalinesLydia also found inspiration in the Lalibela churches: According to legend these churches were ‘built by angels’ and were carved from the depths of the earth.

Lydia Courteille “Ring 18k black rhodium gold with yellow sapphires, tsavorites and green tourmaline 553810B Lastly, the wonderful Danakil Desert: near the Dallol Volcano, one of the lowest and hottest places on Earth, a truly diabolic beauty of nature. Swirling sulphur and mineral salt formations have influenced the choice of gemstones for this collection: rare yellow and green tourmalines, gold the color of clay.