The jewelry of James Claude Taffin de Givenchy—a designer whose creations exude a modern, refined air.
Take a look at a unique jewel: two topaz stones mounted along with diamonds on a thin flexible 18K rose gold. The necklace has been drew by a French transplanted to New York, James Taffin de Givenchy, grandson of the legendary Hubert. James Claude Taffin de Givenchy founded his jewelry brand in New York in 1996, though he was born in Beauvais, near Paris. He was the youngest of seven children born to Jean-Claude de Givenchy and his American wife, Patricia Marie Myrick. His father long served as president of Parfums Givenchy.
James fell in love with stones after being at the head of the jewelry department of Christie’s on the West Coast of the US. His work is inspired by that of the great French designers of jewelry, such as Raymond Templier and Suzanne Belperron. He opened his boutique and studio on Madison Avenue, in the Big Apple. With this shape, the necklace published by the New York Times, it can do without the clip.
James Taffin is skilled in reinterpreting the ancient stones and rare to new forms, in very original way. For example, in the intentions of the designers this necklace reminds an exclamation mark abstract. The two pink topaz are, from the Victorian era, they are with slightly different shades: one is pear-shaped, 3.5-carat; the larger one with shades of mauve, 39 carats, has an oval cut. Nestled in the jewel there are also 105 diamonds. To set up this piece of jewelry, it took 60 hours. But the designer has other interests: true to its French origins and at its name, he’s interesting to environmental scents and fragrances. In 2011, Barneys New York has launched a capsule Taffin Home Fragrance collection of scented candles handmade in France and presented in containers bakelite designed by Givenchy.
