PARIS — For Viltier founders Iris de la Villardière and Thomas Montier Leboucher, art and design have always been in the picture for their five-year-old fine jewelry label.
Their first showroom in Paris was once the apartment of architect Charlotte Perriand, which they filled with sculptural design pieces, while their second is a former art gallery on Rue de Verneuil, a stone’s throw from the home of French interior designer Jean Michel Frank.
But there’s one art-filled locale that had them reach for their high jewelry creations, a territory they’d explored through bespoke orders from Day One but are now solidifying into their lineup: the private apartment in Musée Maillol of Dina Vierny, the French sculptor’s muse who became a prominent art gallerist and founder of the museum.
“Pierre Lorquin, Dina’s grandson, was my flatmate. He always told us about her gallery [and] the museum with so much awe and from the start we collaborated with them [through] the loan of artworks,” Montier Leboucher told WWD.
“He offered us to set up in his grandmother’s apartment [in the museum] which had not been touched since her passing and that had been completely redone by Madeleine Castaing,” he continued. “Coincidentally she is our number-one source of inspiration for our current showroom.”
Proximity with Vierny’s collection of works from the likes of Paul Gauguin, Henri Matisse and Serge Poliakoff had the jewelry pair wanting to go bigger and bolder.
Juxtaposed with a painting of a shapely derrière by French naïve painter Camille Bombois is the All Year Round bracelet with 12 stones in a rainbow that includes emeralds, sapphires and garnets. Elsewhere, a cocktail ring with a sizable stone and a bayadère-style alternation of polished gold and diamonds has a sunshine yellow work by Poliakoff as a backdrop.
A painstakingly restored antique chest was the setting for a dozen Talisman Cabochon pendants, one for each month of the year and set with a stone the size of a boiled sweet, while “Les mains,” a 1930 bronze by Maillol depicting a pair of hands, framed the Pyramides ring topped with a 6.12-carat yellow diamond.
“We only did [high jewelry] through special orders because we were apprehensive about going there of our own volution” said de la Villardière. “But we felt it was time to show high jewelry our way, meaning pieces that can be worn [every day] while being extremely precious.”
They define high jewelry pieces as designs “having [important] center stones or over a certain number of carats,” rather than a price boundary, although their jewels have hit between 30,000 and up to 300,000 euros so far.
The segment is a small but growing portion of the Viltier business and having pieces on hand to show has brought in a new clientele, the founders said.
Viltier unveiled its high jewelry in the private apartment of Dina Vierny in the Musée Maillol, decorated by Madeleine Casteing.
Matteo Verzini/Courtesy of Viltier
“We have clients that come in directly for bigger pieces, without first getting, say, a Magnetic ring,” which start around 2,000 euros, said de la Villardière.
It’s also helped them build momentum despite a choppy macroeconomic backdrop and lackluster luxury environment.
“We don’t feel there’s a slowdown in luxury itself but rather in the way it’s consumed,” said de la Villardière.
Case to her point: direct sales have been growing to the tune of 30 percent year-on-year. And while somewhat softer, sales through retail partners continue to grow. The brand recently opened a corner at Le Bon Marché, with a permanent Viltier staff member on hand.
It has helped the brand solidify its footing on its home market, with France leaping to a 65 percent share of the business since the opening of their Rue de Verneuil address, Montier Leboucher said.
That’s not to say Viltier is pulling back on its international expansion. The U.S., where the brand has been focusing efforts since 2022, weighs over 30 percent.
High jewelry comes as de la Villardière and Montier Leboucher are expanding toward the Middle East.
Its focus is Bahrain, where they have recently signed with the Bahrain Jewellery Centre, a distributor working with the likes of Tiffany & Co., Chopard and Patek Philippe. The French jewelry brand will also take part in Jewellery Arabia 2025, an annual watch and jewelry fair held in the country from Nov. 25 to 29.
