An innovative setting technique from New Zealand-based jeweler Floeting has made its way into the luxury retailer’s Titan collection.
For the top jewelry houses today, the new battleground is not only producing recognizable designs and getting the biggest fashion stars as ambassadors but also displaying diamond expertise and credibility.
Enter Tiffany & Co., which has distinct designs and high-profile ambassadors in spades — and which, during January’s Couture Week in Paris, unveiled a new feather in its cap: the Titan setting. The setting launched as part of Tiffany Titan, a fine-jewelry collection designed by polymath recording artist, producer and Louis Vuitton menswear creative director Pharrell Williams. It features the patented Floeting platform, which sets a round brilliant diamond in a special mounting without the use of prongs.
Letting the diamond shine
To the naked eye, the stone looks like a regular round brilliant, but the setting “frees up the diamond to visually appear to float,” explains Floeting co-inventor Ian Douglas, speaking from the company’s base in Wellington, New Zealand.
The award-winning platform, which took 17 years to develop, uses precision technology to create micro-grooves on the diamond, and these connect directly to the setting. Production takes place in micro-engineering facilities that also serve the aerospace and medical industries.
On the aesthetic front, the diamond achieves optimal light performance with 89 facets, over 50% more than a standard round brilliant. New Zealand science and engineering institute Callaghan Innovation has also pointed out the diamond’s strength, and each stone receives a unique serial number for traceability.
The idea originated from customers increasingly asking for jewelry that put the diamond center-stage, free of any prongs, according to the company.
“For diamond people, it showcases what the diamond is about, as opposed to what the setting is about,” says Floeting co-inventor Christine Douglas.
Bart De Hantsetters appreciates the innovation of the Floeting design. As co-owner of Antwerp-based diamond company Diamcad, which has cut many bespoke stones for the top Place Vendôme houses, he praises the magnificent light enhancement that the absence of prongs makes possible.
A beautiful partnership
Round brilliant diamonds, especially in bridal jewelry, are Tiffany’s bread and butter. The New York-based retailer’s own patented Tiffany Setting engagement ring features a round brilliant with six prongs. Now the company has entered into a licensing agreement with Floeting to use the platform in its designs.
To start, Tiffany has set the Floeting diamond into its Titan pieces, including a pair of earrings with a fishtail setting, a pendant, and a ring with the collection’s signature gold spikes. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the setting started to appear in future Tiffany collections.
Tiffany’s incorporation of Floeting echoes moves by other jewelry maisons to create propriety diamond cuts. Louis Vuitton’s LV Diamonds collection features stones in the shape of the fashion house’s iconic monogram flowers, while Chaumet’s hexagon-shaped, 88-facet patented Taille Impératrice cut — French for “empress” — riffs off its iconic bee-themed jewelry collection. Both brands, like Tiffany, are part of the LVMH luxury group.
The idea is to stand out and create a distinct identity, says De Hantsetters. “By creating their own cuts, it’s almost impossible to compare one brand with another.” And while “anyone can take the Rapaport list and compare” prices for round brilliant or pear shapes, he adds, proprietary-cut stones have no real pricing structure — another element that adds to their exclusivity.
Main Image: Pharrell Williams, designer of the Titan collection. (Tiffany & Co.)
Source : Rapaport
