ydia Courteille’s Carnet de Voyage

Lydia Courteille’s dreams and imagination have been nurtured since childhood by a need to express herself in a manner which would take her on an odyssey to all four corners of the world. Curiosity and culture were magnets to faraway lands and distant pasts. Her experiences are intertwined with the towns and regions she has visited throughout her extensive career, transforming them into memories and strong statements, spiced with the works of art, architecture and legends she encountered along the way.

Courteille’s jewellery is punctuated with the stories of strong-minded and independent women. From the tragic Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo, who painted her own physical pain in such a graphic manner, to the Queen of Sheba, a legendary figure believed by some to have ruled Ethiopia 3,000 years ago, their extraordinary destinies are one of the major influences behind her collections and her go-to attitude. Since 1980, she has forged a path for her own creativity. Her jewels combine unusual gemstones with unusual outlines and a composition of symbolic meanings which would not normally be found side by side.

Her work is deliberately satirical and humoristic. Some of her jewels are particularly poetic, while others remind us of the short time we have on Earth, such as her memento mori. Some are intentionally seductive.

Some well-known names have been with her from the start, including Karl Lagerfeld, Pierre Bergé, Yves Saint Laurent and stylists such as Riccardo Tisci for Lanvin, and Thierry Mugler to name but a few. Many great names from show business have Lydia Courteille pieces in their collections, names which may be familiar to the reader, including Madonna, Catherine Deneuve, Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Nicole Kidman, Tom Ford and the late Johnny Halliday.

After studying gemmology, Courteille embarked on her own career as an independent antique dealer and began to create her own jewels. Courteille has never given up the antique jewellery side of her career and she still collects, buying and selling jewels which appeal to her. She opened her first boutique on rue Duphot within the Parisian golden triangle of luxury and couture. She then moved to rue Saint Honoré, setting up her second shop a stone’s throw from the famous Place Vendôme. On rue Saint Honoré, her boutique invites us to enter a magical world; to pass through a mirror and enter a sophisticated, unexpected world of fantasy and rebellious desire. Said to be ‘Paris’s best kept secret’, it’s a compulsory stop for all those interested in jewellery.