Anthony

Jewellery sculpting Artisan

Gifted hands

Before existing in gold and precious stones, some High Jewellery creations are first made up in wax. And it is Anthony who carries out the sculpting thereof, by applying his artistically gifted hands. Working from the drawing that is submitted to him, the luxury jewellery-sculpting artisan uses his tools to create the first three-dimensional model of the jewellery to come. Once completed, it will serve as the mould in which a rough gold version will be replicated.

[A note is sustained in the background on string instruments]


(On-screen text: Chopard presents)


(Anthony is in his workshop, wearing a white coat embroidered with "Chopard Genève". He begins to work sculpting blocks of raw materials.)


I'm an interpreter, which means I am given a drawing, stone or theme. My job is to bring this idea to life.


(On-screen text: ART, from the Latin ARS, ARTIS. Talent, skill, dexterity.)


[Soft piano music plays]


(On-screen text: The word ART becomes ARTISAN.)


(On-screen text: From expertise to emotion. Chopard)


(A black and white graphite sketch of the palm of a hand, surrounded by the words EXPERTISE, CREATIVITY, EMOTION.)


For me, working with my hands is a fundamental need. It's my passion and a large part of my life.


(A portrait of Anthony.)


(On-screen text: Anthony, Jeweller-Sculptor Artisan)


(In his workshop, Anthony looks at a picture of a necklace with a large pendant made up of two entwined fish, their bejewelled fins forming a heart shape surrounded by stones that resemble drops of water. He begins to meticulously sculpt a maquette of the pendant in plasticine, selecting different tools to shape the material.)


I am a sculptor in high jewellery design for Chopard.


(On-screen text: Plasticine modelling)


From this material, I need to produce a jewel, a sculpture or a form.


(He places his work onto a template of the pendant, and melts the material to add some details, comparing it to a photo of the fish.)


I really put my entire being into sculpting a jewel. So, when I'm sculpting an animal, for example, that's slightly fantastic or acrobatic, I become the figure, I become the animal.


(On-screen text: Engraving)


(Anthony traces the outline of his fish pendant onto a block of wax and begins to carve the shapes out, using calipers to precisely measure each part of the piece.)


I look for the angle or pose that is the most evocative, as energetic and graceful as a dancer. So as to convey and reflect an emotion. At Chopard, nothing is set in stone.


(On-screen text: Wax scuplting)


It's a collective effort and I draw on all the opinions around me. It's a combination of everything we want to bring the jewel. It is an endless search. Some creations take a long time, but every second and minute is spent knowingly. It needs to be beautiful, it needs to be poetic.


(Anthony compares his work to his maquette, smoothing and carving it as he goes, adding details such as the fish's eyes, scales and fins.)


I really believe that when we own a jewel, it carries a part of ourselves in it, as well as the influence of the person who sculpted, made or crafted it. It's a kind of artefact or talisman. My passion and drive for sculpting jewellery, I'd love to see it echoed internally, or further afield, or in others, because with all this

technological progress, I feel like craftsmanship is dying and, for me, sculpting jewellery for Chopard helps maintain the flame of craftsmanship, which must never go out.


(Anthony places the finished wax model on top of the picture of the pendant to compare.)


(On-screen text: Chopard - The artisan of emotions - Since 1860)

"As a jewellery-sculpting Artisan in Chopard’s High Jewellery ateliers, my work is to give life to an idea, a sketch, a gemstone or just a theme. Even though this can involve lengthy research, it fulfils my vital need to work with my hands. I am driven by the idea that each second devoted to this quest for perfection is totally worth it."

Anthony, Jewellery-Sculpting Artisan

Anthony, Jewellery-Sculpting Artisan

Anthony fully embodies what we call manual intelligence. For this Artisan specialised in wax sculpture, who joined our High Jewellery workshops in 2006, working with his hands is more than just a skill, and more than just a profession: it is a passion. The challenge lies in transforming a two-dimensional drawing into an ephemeral sculpture carved in three dimensions from a block of wax. While the sketch serves to highlight the colour and intensity of the gems, the sculpture will reveal the volumes of the luxury jewellery creation to be.

Creativity

Anthony offers his own interpretation of the project with the help of his tools, fully expressing his creativity to transform what was hitherto only a dream into a palpable reality. As he carves away the wax to give shape to his model, however, Anthony appears to be immersed in a dream, as if he himself were becoming the object he is fashioning. When he makes a flower-shaped piece of fine jewellery, he becomes the flower and blooms in the same way. When it is an animal, he transforms himself into that animal and seeks to imitate its gestures and gait. Thanks to these dreams, Anthony lives a thousand lives! Once his sculpture is completed, it will resemble the future luxury jewellery creation and will be used in the lost wax casting workshop to be melted down, giving way to a similar shape in gold.

From expertise to emotions

Our mains d'art