HOKUS A I
François Garaude: Jewelry as a Journey François Garaude s source of inspiration are his travels, discoveries and encounters. The message contained in the jewelry, its style, design and the choice of stones, all reflect the patient yearning to explore that has always guided his steps towards new horizons with curiosity and tenacity. The Visible and the Invisible By the late 1960s the Western world had become unhinged and began to see red. François Garaude, who lived in the quiet middle-class district of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris, took this bolt from the blue like a shot in the arm. May 68 called him irresistibly towards the open seas, to India first of all. Each new day presented a new challenge, each encounter a danger, a path to perdition... or a fantastic discovery. It mattered not which; the unexpected was as adrenaline to François Garaude and he discovered a country where rites and beliefs patterned people s thinking and changed lives. He understood that in India, spirituality took precedence over everything, that it explained everything, justified everything. François Garaude s adventure had turned into a spiritual quest, but it was rudely interrupted by the illness that brought him back to France. After this experience, he held within himself a great treasure: the desire to give meaning to all things. The journey would continue, in a different direction. Was it a sign? In his pockets were a topaz and a moonstone that he had brought back with him: his first talismans. The First Emerald Back in France, François Garaude set to studying architecture, philosophy and cinema. While he was still studying, the young man built a 14 meter boat and embarked on a fantastic journey across the Atlantic between France and Brazil. It was there that he met the girl who would become his wife. To occupy his time while waiting to return to Europe with her, François Garaude went to discover the emeralds of Bahia. And that is when everything changed. Fascinated by these exceptional stones, he quickly became a specialist. First he sold a single stone, then several, then a batch. The future jeweler had got into trading. He decided to make a career of it, traveling to the most beautiful mining regions of the world - Colombia, Sri Lanka, Burma. Closer to Natural Beauty The gems are chosen for their natural beauty - none are treated or heated - their brilliance, their infinite range of shades, and their imperfections too. In both Asian and Western cultures, they carry a strong emotional appeal. They possess a significance that never fails to delight François Garaude, who is always on the lookout for the meaning contained in an object. For him, cool colors like the blue of the sapphire symbolize precision and analysis, the bright red of the ruby evokes passion, while green represents activity, and the diamond omniscience... In each piece of jewelry, the stone takes on a personal meaning. François Garaude came back from his travels with a vision of the universe that resembles a discovery of the planet. Domes, circles and balls positioned in line with the four cardinal points; flexible and simple jewelry; almost untreated, or structured and very ordered: these feature inspire the creations with theire evocative names - India, Renaissance, Cardinale, Orbitale, Hokusai and Byzance. 1
HOKUS A I In the Hokusai collection, the beauty and power of nature unleashed is expressed in contrast with the refinement of Japanese art. The famous Great Wave off Kanagawa hurtles towards the heavens, its crest a foam of diamonds. Contained within a circle as two halves, it evokes Yin and Yang: the movement being the chased titanium and the light, the diamond. This exceptionally lightweight picture-jewelry is worked on very fine cast titanium whose ripples resemble the furrows of japanese garden. 3
Light blue mat titanium Hokusai earrings, 300 white diamonds, 1,32 cts 4
18 K pink gold, titanium, 300 white diamonds, 1,31 cts, Hokusai earrings 5
Gold polished titanium Hokusai earrings, 300 white diamonds, 1,34 cts 6
Silver, 18 K gold Hokusai earrings, 284 white diamonds, 0,91 cts 7
Light blue mat titanium, 18 K pink gold Hokusai ring, 50 white diamonds, 0,14 cts 8
Purple polished titanium, 18 K yellow gold Hokusai ring, 50 white diamonds, 0,14 cts 9
Dark blue mat titanium Hokusai pendent, 156 white diamants, 0,71 cts (This model exists as a brooch) 11
Silver, 18 K gold Hokusai large pendent, 171 white diamonds, 2,10 cts 13
Sailing up Brasil, 1983.
Light blue mat titanium Hokusai earrings, 70 white diamonds, 0,22 cts 15
Silver, 18 K gold Hokusai earrings, 70 white diamonds, 0,22 cts 16
www.garaude.com 4, rue Drouot 75009 Paris 01.40.22.00.08