Paraphrasing an old (beautiful) film by Stanley Kubrick, the new edition of GemGèneve (2-5 November) can be characterized as 2023, A Pearl Odyssey. Because a special focus is dedicated to this fruit of the sea, including precious vintage jewels, gems and design pieces. The Pearl Odyssey exhibition brings together over 30 jewels and extraordinary pieces: the Chaumet maison, the Flee Project collective, a private collection and several partner exhibitors took part in this project.
Natural pearls are wonderful. With their extraordinary beauty, these rare gems have fascinated the world for thousands of years. They take decades to form, and for this reason they are a priceless natural treasure. We have decided to pay homage to them with this discovery-exhibition, in November 2023, to reveal this hidden beauty to visitors. The perfection of natural pearls lies in their very imperfection. Each pearl is unique in size, shape, color and luster. It can be round, oval, baroque or even teardrop-shaped. The color varies from pure white to deep black, passing through a wide range of shades: pink, champagne, or even iridescent blue-green, reminiscent of the wings of a dragonfly.
Ronny Totah, Co-founder of GemGenève
The space was designed by Flee Project. The exhibition allows a dive into the atmosphere of the pearl divers of the Persian Gulf and other places, presents jewels of imperial origin, or embellished with an extraordinary pearl, but also the creativity of the greatest jewelers. The exhibition itinerary ends with a scientific note and, with the support of the Swiss Institute of Gemology (SSEF), which presents the history of the study of pearls since the last century, with the theme of the differentiation between fine pearls and cultured pearls. From Joseph Chaumet’s first experiments to the cutting-edge techniques developed by the partner laboratory, this last space offers a complete overview of the different evaluation methods that allow us to determine the quality and origin of all the pearls in the world.
For several years the pearl has returned to the protagonist scene in the world of jewellery. Considered obsolete or too classic for a long time, today it is a source of inspiration for a new generation of jewelers.
