We are all Stardust: The first monograph dedicated to Parisian Jeweler Extraordinaire Frédéric Zaavy

Tells the story of the brilliant life of Frédéric Zaavy, his unique craftsmanship, and enduring legacy of his aesthetics and works

• 20
  years of preparation, visiting 11 countries to record and unveil the artistry
  and fluctuating fortunes of the master jeweler
• Spanning
  over 240 pages, renowned still life photographers John Bigelow Taylor and
  Dianne Dubler’s compiled a visual narrative on Zaavy’s works, weaving together hundreds
  of images of his creative inspirations, atelier and domestic settings
• Monograph
  debuts the last 11 works made by Zaavy, which were never revealed during his
  life-time

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 14 May 2021 – After nearly 20 years of preparation, the
first monograph dedicated to Parisian artist-jeweler Frédéric Zaavy
(1964-2011) has been launched, titled Stardust:
The Work and Life of Jeweler Extraordinaire Frédéric Zaavy (Stardust).
The monograph presents a portrait of an artist who strived to paint the beauty
of the universe in precious stones. Zaavy considered himself heir to the legacy
of Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, gem dealer to Louis XIV, and was chosen as the
exclusive jeweler for the 21st century revival of Fabergé. Inspired by nature,
quantum physics, philosophy, art, music, and literature, his poetic sensibility
saw him create daringly intricate pieces with hundreds or thousands of tiny
gems that came together like pointillist objets d’art. The monograph is dedicated
to commemorating a talented jewellery artist, coinciding with the 10th
anniversary of Zaavy’s passing.

From left to
right: Disordered Ribbon Bracelet (2011); artist-jeweler Frédéric Zaavy

Courtesy of Frédéric
Zaavy

Zaavy’s masterful approach
was to paint with jewellery. He used gemstones akin to colors on a palette to
present visions of nature and light in his creations. He drew inspiration from
ginkgo leaves, lava-flows, icicles, and gnarled twigs, to create densely encrusted
pieces that highlight the subtleties of color-gradation, and the depth of
nature’s palette. For example, the Iris Bracelet (2011) perfectly
replicates the draping petals of a white and yellow iris, through its
composition of a central vivid yellow diamond enveloped in purple, yellow and
white diamonds, sphenes, demantoids, tsavorites, palladium, gold and silver.

Many of his works were also inspired by the Impressionist
movement, and these such pieces have been regarded as ‘sculptural forms of
impressionist paintings’. Signature works include Nymphéas Bracelet (2005),
an evocation of Claude Monet’s renowned “Water Lilies” murals. This
astonishingly fluid and dream-like bracelet is studded with thousands of white,
blue, yellow, violet, pink and black diamonds, as well as other gemstones to
round out this platinum, yellow gold and sterling marvel of design, creating a
floral abstract. In 2011, Frédéric
Zaavy
completed 11 works for 5 series: Iris, Legend, The Ribbons,
Space and Lava, drawing a perfect ending to his life. These
renowned works showcase Zaavy’s virtuoso technique and boundless imagination.

The
high-end custom jewellery atelier Frédéric Zaavy was founded under the same
name as the jewellery artist. The workshop is devoted to inheriting Zaavy’s design aesthetics and providing customers with exceptional and
precious jewellery. Floréal Ercilla, the lead jeweler of Zaavy’s Parisian atelier,
together with other jewelers, wax model makers and setters, create hand-made
and unique jewellery for customers according to the design manuscripts left by
Zaavy. To create these pieces in the workshop, it requires more than hundreds or
thousands of hours of production time, thus highlighting the ultra-complicated
design of Zaavy’s works.

Leading
New York-based still life photographers John Bigelow Taylor and Dianne Dubler -
whose work has featured in over 300 books focusing on works of art,
architecture, jewellery, and antiquities – have created the visual narrative
for the monograph. Featuring text by acclaimed French writer Gilles Hertzog, Stardust
unveils the exquisite artistry and fascinating career of a master jeweler whose
life was cut too short. Evocatively framed by his imminent mortality, the book
gathers accounts of Zaavy from his closest allies, both personal and
professional, looking directly into the darkest moments of his adventurous and precarious
career. Taylor and Dubler’s photographs for the book shine a light on Zaavy’s
work, weaving in images of his creative inspiration, atelier, and domestic
settings among images that immortalise the jeweler’s creations.

The
publication of monograph has received unconditional support from Lisa Chen,
the co-founder of Daring Enterprise (the founding company of the brand Frédéric Zaavy) and Zaavy’s life partner. Chen said: “Frédéric
and I embraced common dreams. We both endeavored to create moving artistic
jewelry, which can be passed on from generation to generation. Frédéric worked
non-stop for 18 years, burning his life to create 204 works for an excellent
line-up of French royal crafts and arts. He created jewellery that worth
billions in total. We look forward to recording, sharing, and inheriting
Zaavy’s life and his aesthetics through Stardust. This monograph brings
together the hearts and support of everyone, and we have been working
tirelessly for 20 years to make it happen. We hope that every reader
appreciates the heart-warming stories.”

John
Bigelow Taylor and Dianne
Dubler, photographers and friends of Zaavy, have said: “Stardust is the
origin of all matter in the universe, including the diamonds Frédéric “painted”
with and loved so much. He was fascinated that, in addition to their beauty,
diamonds resonated deep time. However, he was undaunted by time and space,
which he deemed to be inconsequential. He thought of time in eons and knew his
moment here would never be enough. Months before he died, he said to us, “I am
already dead,” but then carried on as if he would live forever! He often
acknowledged that he had been here before and would someday return.“

Notes to Editors

Stardust:
The Work and Life of Jeweler Extraordinaire Frédéric Zaavy
Text by Gilles Hertzog

Photography and production by
John Bigelow Taylor and
Dianne Dubler (Kubaba Bespoke Books)

Language:
English and Simplified Chinese

Publisher:
Officina Libraria, Milan

Pages：240

Published in January 2021

Available
on Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble

Price:
NTD2,500（USD85）