A dreidel? a fishing float? an absolute eye-candy by Taffin
With a pinch of classy humor and plenty of refined elegance, these cool earrings come with a festive greeting: Happy Hanukkah!
Taffin jewelry is an upbeat, optimistic fusion of vibrant gemstones and less common media, like pebbles, wood, plastic, rubber, marble, or patinated metals, while ceramics have become their signature material, whether with minimalistic accents or bold, all-ceramic looks.
The execution, which is reminiscent of enamel, gives a modern look to the wearing of large stones, which American women love.
From The French Jewelry Post
Progressive methods of ceramic-to-metal bonding are widely used in dentistry, manufacture of sensors and power electronics and, in recent decades, have expanded to jewelry and watch-making. James Taffin de Givenchy has mastered this complicated material, making it play by his rules, taking the exact shapes and colors that the designer desires.
A nephew of the world-famous Hubert de Givenchy – French aristocrat, fashion designer and founder of the eponymous luxury fashion and perfume house – James grew up in Beauvais, a small, secluded town close to Paris. In the early 1980s, he left France, where he saw his illustrious family name as a disadvantage: at that time, it might have been seen as an unfair prerogative, both in the fashion world and in business circles. So, he travelled to the United States where, with its endless possibilities (but also competition and obstacles), he could prove himself as both an artist and designer in his own right. And in this he succeeded magnificently.
In New York, James first studied modern dance to become a choreographer, earned a degree in Fine Arts and an associate degree in graphic design, and was later hired by the famous British auction house Christie’s to answer the phone in their jewelry department. There, he acquired his knowledge about jewelry and, from 1991 to 1994, ran the West Coast Jewelry Department in Los Angeles. It was also at Christie’s that his renowned uncle Hubert drew James’s attention to the extraordinary auctioned jewelry pieces.
In 1996, James established his own jewelry brand.
He always unlocks his safe with the curiosity of a chef opening a refrigerator: “I look inside, and decide — what am I going to cook today?”
From The New York Times
In his creations, James Taffin de Givenchy offsets emotion with logic, boundless creativity with clear-headed intellect, endless color schemes with tasteful style, playfulness with boldness – to create unique objects of wearable art.
He understands his stones, and searches to find exactly the right frame, with the right shape and palette, making every gem, whether big or small, look special, whimsical or ultramodern.
The brand’s intellectual and playful approach to jewelry makes their creations both eminently artistic and extremely fun to wear: neither too serious nor too bizarre but rather, flirtatious, colorful and delightful.
This time, their creative approach took the shape of jolly earrings. On the days leading up to Hannukah, Christmas and New Year, Taffin designed precious representations of dreidels – spinning tops with a Hebrew letter printed on each of their four sides, used during Hanukkah to play a popular children’s game: spinning the dreidel and betting on which letter will show when it stops – to win Hanukkah gelt (chocolate coins, wrapped in gold-colored foil).
The alluring pieces also look like delicious, amusing fishing floats, meant to catch magical fish.
Either way, these colorful, funny and fun earrings are the perfect choice for winter festivities, to brighten up your days!
