Marie-Hélène de Taillac

Marie-Hélène de Taillac's path into jewelry design began in childhood: her father's work took the family through the Middle East and North Africa, and her fascination with gemstones started while watching her mother select precious stones at a Lebanese jeweler. That interest deepened through her parents' own collection, then crystallized on a trip to India, where a visit to the storied Jaipur jeweler Gem Palace exposed her to vividly colored stones and to artisans' advanced lapidary techniques. Before turning to jewelry full-time, she trained formally in gemology and worked in fashion alongside milliner Philip Treacy.

She launched her own collection in 1996, at a moment when colored semi-precious stones — as opposed to traditional diamonds and precious gems — were still an unusual choice in fine jewelry. From the outset she worked with tourmalines and other colored stones, and became known for applying the 'briolette' cut, a droplet-shaped faceting technique historically reserved for diamonds, to these softer stones instead.

Production has remained anchored in Jaipur, where all of the house's jewelry, down to the hand-fabricated chains, is made by local artisans using traditional techniques such as gold weaving and silver-leaf work set beneath gemstones. Several of her designs are held in the permanent collection of Paris's Musée des Arts Décoratifs.