Cornerstones – Style – Kommersant

The question “What comes first for you – design or a gem?” – one of the most frequent that jewelers hear. For the co-owners of the Russian brand Parure Atelier, Dmitry Mokrinsky and Vasily Frolov, the answer is obvious. The starting point for the creation of any of their jewelry – both presented in the catalog and made to order – is a precious stone. And the ability to work with individual orders, adapting to the needs of a particular client, is the main “trick” of the brand.

The history of Parure Atelier began in St. Petersburg in 2015 with two jewelers who made engagement rings and diamond stud earrings. Today it is a company with a team of 55 people and sales offices in the northern capital, Moscow and Almaty. Recently, the St. Petersburg headquarters of the brand changed its address, moving to a building on Petrogradskaya Storona: now under one roof there is a design studio, jewelry workshops, and a salon where you can try on ready-made jewelry and discuss with the manager and designer the process of creating your own, unique and unique. In 2023, it is planned to open showrooms in Astana and Dubai.

Despite the appearance last year of several capsule collections (including the best-selling line, developed together with Snezhanna Georgieva, and the precious collection of Waltz of Snowflakes, timed to coincide with the production of The Nutcracker at the Stanislavsky and V. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko MAMT ), a favorite direction for Parure Atelier is working with individual orders. The jewelry atelier produces about 150 pieces of jewelry every month, and two-thirds of this number are projects designed specifically for the client.

As expected, diamond classics are in the highest demand. The list of the most popular colored stones is headed by emeralds, fortunately, the company has something to offer. With the help of a full-time gemologist, a stone with the desired characteristics can be selected from those already available in the studio or from the catalog, and in the absence of what you want, you can order it from trusted suppliers from Thailand, India, Dubai. The brand’s portfolio includes emeralds from all countries where they are mined – from Colombia, Brazil, Zambia and Afghanistan to the Russian Urals. One of the most expensive pieces of jewelry created by Parure Atelier is a ring with a 12.56 carat emerald, mined in the most prestigious mine, Muso in Colombia. All significant stones are accompanied by certificates of conformity: for diamonds, these are usually the GIA issued by the Gemological Institute of America, or the HRD of the Antwerp High Council for Diamonds, for colored stones – the Swiss laboratories Gubelin, GRS and GFCO or the same GIA.

Recently, the company says, there has been a growing interest in colored stones that are not included in the precious “big three” (emerald, sapphire, ruby). First of all – to Paraiba tourmalines and spinels. The atelier is currently working on cutting a 215-carat berry spinel, with plans to end up with two stones weighing about 30 carats each. Stones with such outstanding characteristics have every chance not only to become part of a unique product, but also the future star of someone’s collection. The founders of the campaign do not focus on the investment component, considering not only the pragmatic but also the emotional aspect to be significant when choosing one or another stone. Although both Colombian emeralds and Paraiba tourmalines – both from the almost exhausted Brazilian deposit of the same name, and from the one discovered not so long ago in Mozambique – grow in price over time.

Ekaterina Borisova