Q&a / Tiffany & Co. launches Blue Book 2024, the Tiffany Céleste high jewellery collection: chief artistic officer Nathalie Verdeille on Jean Schlumberger, the influence of New York, aquamarines and more

Jun 11 , 2024

A pendant in platinum and 18k yellow gold with an unenhanced sapphire of over nine carats and diamonds, from the Tiffany Céleste high jewellery collection from Tiffany & Co. Photos: Handout

After making a splashy debut in Los Angeles with a star-studded event attended by the likes of Reese Witherspoon, Anya Taylor-Joy, Emily Blunt and Usher in April, the Tiffany Céleste high jewellery collection from Tiffany & Co. was shown in Hong Kong. Style spoke to Nathalie Verdeille, the brand’s chief artistic officer, jewellery and high jewellery, who was on hand to introduce the one-of-a-kind creations at the event.

Reese Witherspoon and daughter Ava Phillippe attend the Tiffany & Co. launch of Blue Book 2024: Tiffany Céleste high jewellery collection in Los Angeles. Photo: Getty Images

A veteran of jewellers such as Chaumet and Cartier, French-born Verdeille joined Tiffany & Co. in 2021. She started to delve into the brand’s archives, and soon set out to revisit icons such as the Bird on a Rock motif – first designed by Jean Schlumberger. Like Schlumberger, a Frenchman who moved to New York after World War II and joined Tiffany & Co. in 1956, Verdeille is now based in New York. She oversees all of Tiffany & Co.’s jewellery lines, from the rarefied Blue Book high jewellery collections to silver pieces and signature lines like Tiffany Lock and Tiffany T.

Emily Blunt and Usher at the Tiffany & Co. launch of the Tiffany Céleste high jewellery collection in Los Angeles. Photo: Getty Images

What was your perception of Tiffany before joining the house?

I’ve been passionate about the brand for more than 30 years because of Jean Schlumberger, and also the bridal ring, which is famous around the world – and all its in-house designers like Paloma Picasso and Elsa Peretti. I knew about all those creations, and then I discovered the archives and the patrimony – it’s hard to imagine how rich it is.

Tiffany is an American jeweller. How does that influence your designs?

I live in New York because you have to understand the culture when you work for a brand like Tiffany. We have internal workshops where we create and develop high jewellery, and also some workshops in Paris. The mix of savoir faire between the US and Paris is complementary. It’s an American brand, so the design takes place in New York. We have to keep that and [that makes us] different.

Nathalie Verdeille, Tiffany & Co.’s chief artistic officer, jewellery and high jewellery. Photo: Handout

Jean Schlumberger was very modern back in the day, using stones like aquamarine and discovering new ones like morganite. We keep the spirit of the past, but also add a touch of modernity in what we do. Tiffany is a unique brand that keeps all the creativity in the same studio. We also have silver and high jewellery, custom pieces, bridal, classical pieces, so we have a strong richness of creativity and a rich patrimony. When you first discover the brand, you don’t know its richness and DNA.

Tell me more about this high jewellery collection, Tiffany Céleste.

This collection is inspired by Jean’s sketches. It is also a way to remind people about Tiffany’s past: the mix of colours, the setting of the stones, the mobility, the novelty and modernity. Tiffany was the first house to do a lot of things in savoir faire. You find the different values of the brand in this collection. [As for the theme, Céleste], we loved the idea of going deep inside the sea and then up in the [blue] sky.

A bracelet in platinum and 18k yellow gold with fancy intense yellow diamonds of over one total carat and yellow and white diamond accents

How often do you look at the archives, especially Jean Schlumberger’s sketches?

Every day I spend time in the archives. We started working on [Céleste] two years ago. With each different theme, you look at the archives in a different way to support your creativity and suit the topic. It’s never literally [direct] from the sketches. It’s about how we reinterpret the sketches and pieces.

A ring in platinum and 18k yellow gold with blue zircons of over nine total carats, aquamarines of over 16 total carats, mother-of-pearl and diamonds

Do you meet high jewellery clients?

I started meeting the high jewellery clients when I joined three years ago, and I find that they love the way we work. This is the first time we created a big collection under one theme, as in the past it was smaller collections and chapters. When Jean Schlumberger designed jewellery, it was piece by piece – a single ring or a brooch. But, for the first time, we created full sets, but we will also have different chapters and waves for Céleste.

A ring in platinum and 18k yellow gold with a blue zircon of over 26 carats, aquamarines of over 32 total carats, mother-of-pearl and diamonds

Aquamarine is a signature stone for Tiffany. Tell me more about these pieces.

Rough aquamarine is unexpected. [Our pieces] are a mix of different rough aquamarine stones, [which] we played with and polished to create this illusion of clouds. Each stone is unique, so we created a basket all around each stone by hand. It’s not perfectly geometric or symmetrical – you have three prongs or two prongs, depending on the stones. We surprised a lot of artisans at the workshop with this collection because of the mix of platinum and yellow gold. It’s not the same way to work each metal, so you have to be delicate in order to work with the two materials.

Earrings in platinum with diamonds of over two total carats, mother-of-pearl and diamonds

How does working on high jewellery differ from the iconic, signature lines?

What’s great about high jewellery is that we create pieces around the stones, but it’s more complicated – [we] create icons because they have to be appreciated by people all over the world. It’s a different way to create.

High Jewellery

Style spoke to Verdeille, who introduced the collection at an event in Hong Kong – and who has long been passionate about Tiffany designers like Schlumberger, Paloma Picasso and Elsa Peretti
The collection debuted in April, with stars such as Reese Witherspoon, Anya Taylor-Joy, Emily Blunt and Usher attending the Los Angeles launch; the theme Céleste is a nod to both the sea and the sky