The Tour ring by Jean Vendome
Ohan Tuhdarian, known as Jean Vendome, was born in Lyon on April 18, 1930. At barely 18, he opened his first workshop in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. Christine Rivault reveals today a little of the life of this man at the origin of a new and free jewelry, but artist above all.
Founding meetings
To understand the work of Jean Vendome, it is important to know that his career is marked by beautiful encounters, which will always inspire him to create. One fine day in 1950, Jean Cocteau entered his workshop, eager to order a piece of jewelry from a gold nugget. Jean Vendome will make him cufflinks. Very inspired by the rendering both mat and shiny, he will develop a particular technique allowing him to reproduce this aspect. From there was born its first line "Pépite" which will inspire many jewelers.
During the same period, another important meeting will constitute a turning point in his reflection. A woman enters her shop one day and gives her a Lalique jewel in order to melt it down. A month later, Jean Vendome returned the jewel to him intact, convinced that the jewel's value emanates from his creation process and not from the material with which it is made. Jean Vendome works unlike a jeweler. He magnifies minerals that are not necessarily of great value and is more interested in carving around stone.
The human being is always at the heart of his creations which are real sculptures for the body.
The Tour ring
This iconic ring is presented on Christine Rivault's stand. Jean Vendome created the first model of the Tour ring in 1956, then made it evolve. This one dates from the 1960s. It is a very modern ring that bears no resemblance to the creations of the time. With a square section, it is revolutionary and brings the closed setting up to date. It is an open ring, the idea being to let the stones run on the finger. Its signature being the non-use of precious stones for the benefit of minerals from the most modest to the most precious, guided by the beauty of the stone and not by its value. Here he uses citrine, which is a kind of quartz.
Several variants of the Tour ring were also presented on the occasion of the exhibition "Jean Vendome, artist jeweler" at the Ecole des Arts Joailliers Van Cleef and Arpels in Paris.
