The Gantois Necklace

The Gantois Necklace, pictured to the left, was a special commission by a longtime client, Mr. Gantois. It is a necklace in 18kt yellow gold with a 1ct oval diamond (colour E, clarity VS) as centre with similar oval stones in emerald, green tourmaline and purple-blue tanzanite; all accented with diamonds. The centre stone is accented with sapphires and emeralds.

Mr. Gantois contacted me wishing a special gift for his wife's special birthday. This page is dedicated to his commission, and all the steps it took to reach the finished project as shown .

Mr. Gantois was kind enough to take the time to explain our journey in his own words :

"This is the second time that my three children and I have engaged Shauna's creative and jewellers' services for my wife. The first time she had imaged a magnificent ring with a (3 ct, cushion-cut) sapphire. This time, for an important birthday, we wished to renew the experience.

We wished to create a necklace that was unique and personal. Our principal wish was that the stones would be reminiscent of Brazil, as this place has a special meaning to many members of our familly. As well, we wanted a diamond of quality to be the focal point of the jewel. In absolute secrecy (the gift was to be a great surprise), Shauna sent several drawings that helped us to visualize the project. With my children, we decided on one of her propositions.

When it was time for the first visit, Shauna presented me with the stones she had chosen as well as the necklace in the first stages of its construction.

A few weeks later the necklace was ready for the big day and it went way beyond our expectations. Our wish to create a very unique and beautiful jewel for my wife was an objective largely exceeded in the eyes of my family and my wife, for whom the gift was destined."

G. Gantois

Director Financial Investments

Credit Agricole, Corporate Investment Bank

VON GIESBRECHT JEWELS

The original drawing proposition for Mr. Gantois' Necklace.

A drawing showing additional stone-setting detail.

This is how it all starts: a few basic tools and a couple of pieces of wax. I chose to carve the basic motif in wax rather than build it directly out of metal. This would give the project more consistency, as well as being more time (and therefore) more cost effective.

These are the first stages of the prototypes that I made from the wax carvings. I had the was cast in silver which I then refined and adjusted. Once I was happy with them, I had a rubber mold made.

From the molds I had multiple castings in 18kt yellow gold made. They are still quite rough, as you can see in the photo, and need quite a bit of work to make them look like beautiful, finished pieces of jewelry.

Here is an image of the beautiful 'E' coloured diamond I chose for his necklace. We decided to go with ovals to rappel the eyes of her children. In image 2, you can see more clearly the lovely sparkle of the stone. Image 3 shows the diamond with the emeralds, sapphires, blue-green tourmaline and tanzanie.

In this close-up shot you can clearly see the state of the rough pieces when they came out of the casting. It takes a lot of time and effort to get them smooth and even, ready for the next step.

After much filing and work with sandpaper, the necklace starts to look like a 'bijoux'. Although still a little rough around the edges and in need of polishing, it is now ready for the stonesetter.

Periodically through the project, checks with the original drawings & client conversations are necessary to be sure that the vision is being respected.

When producing haute gamme jewelry, it is instrumental to work with highly skilled professionals. The stonesetter can make or break the piece. Here is my stonesetter setting the central diamond.

Now that the stones were set, the necklace needs to be finished and assembled. One of the trickiest details of this necklace was in fact getting all of the rigid bits to fit together harmoniously and lie in against the curves of a woman's neck.

Once I was happy with the fitting, I could then take care of the final polish, taking care that even the smallest of scratches became invisible and that the necklace gleamed like a ray of sunshine.

And that was the way the Gantois Necklace was made. Like every one-of-a-kind creation, it is a voyage with often unexpected turns and problems. The challenge is to still arrive at the finish line, on time and on budget, with a beautiful object to present to my client. Happily, Mr. Gantois and his entire family were thrilled with this necklace which will become a family heirloom for years to come.

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