There was nothing to suggest that Jacques Moniquet could one day become a jewellery designer. In fact he worked originally as a cinema cameraman. He came to the Camargue while working on a film and, charmed by the beauty of the landscapes, the climate and the exceptional light, he decided to settle in Les Baux de Provence, where he set about teaching himself to make jewellery. Working alone, he tried creating a number of kinds of items, but very soon came to dedicate all his imaginative powers to silver jewellery.
It all begins with a mere silver wire a few millimetres in diameter, which is then hammered on an anvil, shaped, filed, sanded and polished to produce the astonishingly sumptuous finished product. A group of artist friends was quick to appreciate the originality and technical quality of his creations, and he had soon extended the range to combine gold, silver and other metals and achieve subtle colour effects. What is quite remarkable is that when you look at close-up photographs of his rings, bracelets and pendants without any reference to show their scale, they have the force and presence of genuine sculptures.
He has invented and perfected his own tools and tricks of the trade, and now boasts his own, very personal studio. One invention of his is the folded metal jewel – a difficult technique that took many years to perfect because metal does not lend itself naturally to draped, folded shapes in the way a supple material such as a fabric does.
Each item is unique, in contrast with moulding techniques where the same model is reproduced time and time again, and each of his jewels is timeless and made to last.
Visit Moniquet art site.
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