Delfina Delettrez the Louvre's Youngest Designer

«I have always had a fascination for precious stones and jewelry but it was when I was pregnant with my first daughter that I felt I needed some kind of amulet for protection. I was looking for the perfect ring, but I couldn't find one. Every time I wore jewelry, it made me feel older and the look just didn’t seem to belong to me, to my taste, and to my generation. I was becoming a mother, but I was also 19. I wanted something different, more personal. This is when I went to a goldsmith without knowing anything about the jewelry-making process, but with a precise idea in my head. I started working with them, observing the process and falling in love with the craft immediately. Even today, I was fascinated to see how something so refined and meticulously detailed can be generated from a raw material. Well I was in ecstasy. It was like a miniature miracle to me. I started feeling extremely happy whenever I was surrounded by stones and metals. The smell of the metal was the only smell that didn’t make me feel nauseous during my pregnancy. That slow process was exciting me. The command I had over the metal was calming, since I had no control over my body that was expanding beyond my control. I remember that I would continuously change the piece just to keep the creation process going for as long as possible. That ring was the starting point of a bigger collection. I was free, creating for the pleasure of experimenting. And in the end, I found myself with 50 unique pieces, mainly rings, and I presented them at Colette in Paris.

Even now, I think I can say that I only create special pieces. Contemporary styles with impeccable manufacture and quality that redefine the classic rules of fine jewelry. Since 2007, I have received many acknowledgements, even from important institutions such as the Louvre’s Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, where a number of my pieces are on display as part of its permanent jewelry collection. I then heard that I was the youngest designer exhibited in that incredible collection. I think one of my most recognizable pieces is my Piercing style earring, which is now one of my best selling designs. My strength lies in taking many forms and variations, from fashion focused pieces with my iconic Eye and Lip motifs in 18kt gold and enamel, through to unique high-jewelry items where 1karat diamonds float freely away from the earlobe. I like to take inspiration from traditions and transform and adapt them in a modern key. I have what I like to call a schizophrenic aesthetic. I am fascinated both by the concept of subtraction, pureness and essentiality of shapes and by the concept of adding, which is based on the past.»