Stories in a locket by Marie Lichtenberg
Forçat chains from traditional Creole jewelry. Mauli threads, crafted from used saris by artisans in Dhaka, India, which are said to protect the wearer. Hand-made Ghanaian beads, sourced from Krobo and Ashanti Ghana, which were once a form of national currency, now stemming from a know-how passed on from generation to generation. Golden chains handcrafted in Italy. French flair and emotionality.
Surely this is the very definition of “from all over the world”.
In her designs, Marie Lichtenberg has gathered colorful, meaningful and deep-rooted concepts, traditions and materials from many different countries and cultures, and transformed them into exquisite, fun and charming lockets.
Representing our purest and deepest feelings and desires, they come in a kaleidoscope of colors, emotions, materials and techniques. The uplifting mottos – Amour, Bonheur, Believe, Will Protect You Forever – are branded on the side of most of the jewels.
A traditional chain with a locket clasp that symbolizes emancipation and freedom in Creole culture was given to a teenage Marie by her mother – an artistic director at an advertising agency with Martiniquan roots, who also ran a small vintage jewelry boutique as a side business. “This style of Forçat necklace was crafted by slaves when they were freed,” explains Marie in her interview to Net-a-Porter.
Later, after years of working as a fashion editor for the ELLE France magazine, this spiritual connection with jewelry evoked the ideas behind what has now become the Marie Lichtenberg brand.
To make her designs come to life, Marie cooperates with jewelry experts, and sources materials and components from across the globe.
Amongst others, the techniques used in her creations include sophisticated hand-enameling; guilloche – a decorative technique where intricate and repetitive patterns are mechanically engraved into metal with a rose engine lathe machine; repoussé and chasing – metalworking techniques where the metal is shaped by hammering it to create a low relief design.
Déja vu: my mother gives me a long-desired candy. Hidden in a bright, golden wrapper, it promises the most delicious, sweet and phantasmagoric tastes available in our world.
This is what Marie Lichtenberg’s brand stands for: heritage, good vibes, personal connections, unforgettable memories and new, wonderful stories to be shared with the special people in our lives.
The only drawback of these irresistible, bohemian and talismanic charmers is that one is never enough.
They will leave you wanting more!
