There is something about the jingling of gemstone briolettes that will transport you to the glitz and glamour of a grand dancefloor lit by elaborate chandeliers. Set just right, these elegant gems can bring that magical en tremblant effect to jewellery.
Margarita Prykhodko specialises in creating extraordinary pieces for her Sybarite jewellery line. The celebrated, flame-haired architect’s jewels are never as simple as they first appear, with each throwing up a surprise element of functionality – such as her ring that is a working, gem-filled kaleidoscope, or her elaborate ballerina ring that spins on top of a mirrored stage.
When it comes to creating movement in jewellery, Prykhodko is a master and she has used briolette diamonds to bring one of her latest designs to life. The white gold and diamond earrings from her Stories of Night and Day collection show two ballerina-like figurines – one crowned with a Sun and the other a Moon – sitting on swings. When the earrings are worn, the bejewelled figures swing into action and a trim of briolette-cut diamonds tremble and sparkle around the hems of their dresses.
Coloured gemstones also lend themselves well to the briolette cut, and when bunched together they can create a juicy centrepiece. Palmiero’s Wildflower rings are a great example of this, decorated with clusters of sapphires in shades of blue, orange or pink, at the centre of sapphire and diamond-encrusted gold petals.
Fellow Italian jeweller Alessio Boschi has also worked with gemstone briolettes, attaching more than 30 briolette-cut tsavorites to his elaborate Ivy necklace, which has a detachable 40ct Australian black opal leaf that can be worn as a brooch. The tsavorite briolettes are placed both singly and in small clusters all the way around the design, from the very tip to the clasp at the back. The gems are attached to their cap fittings with tiny pins that allow them the freedom to shimmer and shake.
For a more relaxed way to wear bunches of gemstone briolettes, Melissa Joy Manning has decorated a pair of simple, yellow gold hoops with briolette-cut rainbow moonstones, labradorites and cat’s eye opals, which are just begging to be packed into your holiday suitcase.
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Wildflowers briolette-cut sapphire rings
Palmiero
POA
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Ivy black opal and tsavorite necklace
Alessio Boschi
£ 145,000
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Yellow gold hoop earrings with briolette-cut gemstones
Melissa Joy Manning
£ 360
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Metropolitan South Sea pearl and topaz earrings
Autore
$ 26,370
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Chiocciolina briolette-cut amethyst and sapphire ring
de GRISOGONO
£ 6,700
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Stories of Day and Night diamond earrings
Sybarite
POA
