” Grey diamonds evoke a Geneva day. It’s cold, discreet, but chic”
Nothing in the Jaqueline Powers brand, created by co-executive producer of the GOT series, evokes the universe inspired by the works of George R.R Martin. Instead, look to Junichirô Tanizaki’s In Praise of Shadow to discover a subtle world where beauty is born of nuance, patina and use. We met in the Designers’ Village at GemGenève. Isabelle Cerboneschi
Walking past the Jaqueline Powers stand at the GemGenève trade fair in May, I couldn’t take my eyes off a necklace: it looked like a Celtic torque that had made a quantum leap into the 21st century. The bronze piece was set with a brown diamond. When all but the essentials have been removed, all that remains is a form of beauty.
Vince Gerardis is better known in the world of cinema than in that of jewellery. He is notably co-executive producer of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, for which he won four Emmy Awards in the Outstanding Drama Series category in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2023 respectively. Yet jewellery has always been part of his life. His father was a diamond-setter and he himself was a merchant, trading in and importing diamonds.
Before creating a jewellery line, Vince Gerardis began collecting jewellery. In 2019, he sold a piece from his collection at Sotheby’s: a Victorian-era ruby and diamond brooch depicting the Sacred Heart. The jewel, dating from the second half of the 18th century, had belonged to Dame Joan Evans, a historian specialising in medieval art and the history of jewellery.
You might have thought that his passion for fantasy literature, which he never fails to mention during the conversation, would have led him to love Victorian pieces, but his latest acquisition, he reveals, is a Suzanne Belperron ring of great purity. As is the Jaqueline Powers collection, which he presented in Geneva for the first time.
He works in tandem with designer Corina Tahuil. “The company’s philosophy is to collaborate on all things and let the best designs and ideas and strategies win. Corina designs, but is also acting as head of our creative and oversees other outside designers. She also helps with many infrastructure things. I’m the one funding it and owner and also responsible for it », explains Vince Gerardis. As for the brand’s slightly cryptic name, it’s simply that of Vince Gerardis’ mother, whose portrait can be found on Jaqueline Powers’ Instagram page.
To be welcomed into the very select circle of the Designers’ Village, which brings together the new names in jewellery and the rising stars of the profession at the GemGenève fair, you need to have been endorsed by talent scout Nadège Totah. “A former exhibitor introduced me to Vince Gerardis and Corina Tahuil at the Miami Beach antique show. They had contacted me earlier to apply to exhibit, but I hadn’t had time to reply. They started to show me some jewellery, and Corina talked to me about diamonds and the number of carats, but I stopped her because that’s not a decisive criterion for me. What interests me is the story behind the jewellery. I liked the aesthetic choices they made and I decided to go for it. At the time, I had no idea who Vince Gerardis was. I was told afterwards that he was a co-producer of Game of Thrones. I find it very interesting that he works with brown or grey diamonds when he can afford to choose D Flawless diamonds,” explains the co-organiser of GemGenève.
The collection presented in Geneva by the Jaqueline Powers brand features the colours of amber and the grey of the sky with which the people of Geneva are familiar: that of days when the sun fails to pierce the clouds. The jewellery is bronze or gold, set with diamonds in muted shades of brown or grey. It’s unusual.
INTERVIEW
The tones in your first collection are muted browns and greys. Was this deliberate?
Vince Gerardis: The idea is to design two collections a year, like in the world of couture. This is our first Autumn/Winter 2024-25 collection. We chose discreet, simple tones. We thought this would be appropriate for a country like Switzerland, where we are presenting it for the first time. The brand originated in Miami and we intend to use bright, bold colours for next summer. We’re not rushing into anything, we don’t want to become the biggest jeweller in the world. It’s about art, design, fashion and style.
There are more and more independent brands. What do you hope to bring to the world of jewellery?
I started from the principle that too many brands that launch themselves become extravagant too quickly. I wanted to enter this world with the idea of making classic jewellery, but by taking a step aside. For this collection, I chose to use brown and grey diamonds. Show me some at this show? Nobody makes grey diamonds. Titanium and grey diamonds are in harmony. It evokes a Geneva day. It’s cold, discreet, but with a lot of allure. Brown diamonds are generally considered to be cheap stones and people try to sell them as ‘chocolate’ or ‘honey’ diamonds, but most of them are not very attractive in my opinion. On the other hand, when you find a really stunning brown diamond, you can create something unique and fresh.
You say you wanted to take a step aside. When you decided to create a jewellery line, did you define a signature, an aesthetic specific to the brand?
To be honest, we started out a bit reckless, without a clear idea of what was going to emerge. Then, as we developed the first thirty pieces, we tried lots of different things, took rings apart, removed stones and redid the whole thing, until we began to see a clear voice emerging. I think any jeweller, when art is part of their inspiration, goes through different phases. One year you might want to create jewellery in black metal, the next you might use carbon fibre, the year after that big stones, then white, and so on. Why can’t you afford to do that?
Why have you decided to use a bronze frame for some of your jewellery?
Gold is important, but everyone is familiar with it, so we wanted to do something different. The colour of bronze changes over time… The more you use it, the more it changes. Some jewellery will evolve and if you don’t like it any more, you bring it back to us and we change the colour again, that’s what’s fun about it.
And yet there is gold hidden inside the frames.
Yes, and for two reasons: the first is subtlety. The gold is there, but only the wearer knows it. The second is comfort: gold feels softer on the skin.
Can this be considered a selfish pleasure?
I’ve never thought of it that way, but maybe a little. There’s no need to brag.
Is there an American spirit in your brand?
I don’t know how to answer that question, because I’m not exaggerating when I say that Corina and I, the jewellers and others, we’ve had this conversation at least 80 times. Is there a single way of identifying who we are? No. We created a ring inspired by Suzanne Belperron. We have pieces whose design is very Latin American and Spanish, but which are not presented in Geneva. It’s not just geographical: it’s about mentality, timing and where we are in the market place.
What are your dreams for the brand?
That it becomes self-financing and that people appreciate it. I’d be happy to sell four pieces a month. And if it grows, great! The jewellery business, like any other business, is terrifying if you need the profit to pay your bills. I don’t want to find myself in that situation. We hope that our jewellery will generate enough income to keep the brand going.
