Paris, France — It is a parade of colors from the Parisian jewelry house of Akillis. Deep greens, London blues and heady purple mark the collection called Spread Your Wings, described by the house as a tribute to freedom. Set in white gold, the rings and earrings seemingly fly over your ears and fingers. The colored gemstones are set off with diamond paving and the pieces are artfully shaped into feathered-wings. But the most glamorous piece in the 15-piece collection was clearly the eye-catching ear cuff.

Left: Double ring set with amethysts from Akillis. Photo courtesy Akillis. Handout via The Gourmet Gazette. Right: Ring set with tsavorites from Akillis. Photo courtesy Akillis. Handout via The Gourmet Gazette.

The colors and choice of the gemstones and minerals immediately flew into view. The green tsavorites for example. Tsavorites are a member of the garnet family and stand out with their evergreen color which is imparted upon it by the presence of chromium and/or vanadium. Sometimes they are called mint garnet and earned their name Tsavorite from the Tsavo National Park in Kenya where they were first discovered in 1967. It is a coveted gemstone in high jewelry making. Amethyst is a member of the quartz family and comes in a stunning range of purples and violets and at times seems to be somewhat bluish.  The amethysts used in the Spread Your Wings collection are that deep dreamy violet hue. The other stand-out stone in the collection is the blue London topaz. Topaz is a silicate that comes in myriad colors. The blue London is an icy, inky blue. The blue topazes are very rare and so more valuable than the yellows and burnished browns. 

The French jewelry house of Akillis was founded in 2007 by Caroline Gaspard. The house’s studios fashion the most precious of materials — titanium, diamonds and gemstones — and have over the years acquired a particular savoir faire with titanium, a metal that is particularly difficult to transform. The house’s ateliers are located in the region of Lyons, a region known for the excellence of its know how in luxury materials and the cradle of French silk-making. The house’s gemstones are selected by Caroline Gaspard who was trained by her mother, a gemologist. Special to The Gourmet Gazette. 354 Rue Saint-Honoré, 75001 Paris, tel:  +33 (0)1 40 13 64 04. https://akillis.com/en