Kelly Rutherford and The TwentyFour Six Add Gold to Jewelry Collaboration

PARIS — Kelly Rutherford walks into a bar — and ends up with a jewelry collaboration.

That’s in a nutshell how the story of her collaboration with Belgian label The TwentyFour Six, founded by June Van Thillo, began.

On a night out at London’s Chiltern Firehouse, Rutherford and her brother, interior designer and musician Anthony Giovanni Deane, struck up a conversation with “some dudes sitting at the next table that were kind-of my age,” she recalled with a laugh.

When one — who turned out to be Belgian media magnate Christian Van Thillo — brought up “his amazing daughter who had started this new thing,” the actress was intrigued and followed her on social media. “She was doing all these collaborations with interesting people, and I thought it was such an interesting concept.”

The younger Van Thillo, who studied journalism, launched The TwentyFour Six in 2024 as she “wanted to tell people’s stories and draw something with them that tells that story,” she told WWD. “I think it’s important that the person who is interviewed loves [the result], has a feeling with it and it’s not some random collaboration.”

With June Van Thillo and Rutherford seeing eye-to-eye on that, a collaboration was soon on the cards, not least because it also aligned with something Rutherford had been quietly wanting to do: a creative project with her brother.

What followed was a three-way flurry of WhatsApp messages, snapshots and references that spanned anything from a door handle spotted in Milan to a highly coveted pendant by French artist César that Giovanni Deane once filched from their mother’s jewelry box — and returned once he realized its value.

A jewelry afficionado himself, he wanted something unisex, sculptural and a little Brutalist, the kind of pendant that could live on someone for years and only gradually reveal its story.

“We loved the idea of that kind of secret, sculptural piece,” Van Thillo said of the result, a totem-like pendant with smooth surfaces but rugged, tactile edges engraved with the words “Avec Amour.”

Signed with “R+G” as a teaser for further projects between the siblings, it hangs on a chain with a distrinctive rhythm of three long links and a smaller oval one that had a satisfying feel when it slipped through the fingers.

An initial run of 150 pieces, launched last year in gold-plated brass, sold out immediately. But unlike other projects on The TwentyFour Six, which are one-off, that wasn’t the end.

The trio are back this year with further pieces. In February came delicate 18-karat gold diamond-set earrings. “I don’t like a big earring,” Rutherford admitted. “They bother me. These are like air — you can’t feel them.”

The necklace, this time in sterling silver, and a bracelet are slated to launch in May. Made in Antwerp, all will remain limited edition only, Van Thillo said. “I think it’s nice to have this kind of exclusive feel….They’re cool objects with a story.”

A further chapter of sorts is likely to come with Rutherford’s son Hermès Giersch, “a cool thing that men could wear with suits but [is] jewelry” teased his parent.

For Rutherford, this collaboration reads as the opening act in a broader desire to push beyond the boundaries of a career built primarily on acting. “I think you reach a point where it was so limiting just to do one thing your whole life,” she said. “With what we do, you meet so many different people and it’s inspiring. It’s really about expanding your horizons and being aligned with things that feel right.”  

Coming soon is a perfume, developed with longtime friend Véronique Gabai, a beauty and fashion veteran who launched an eponymous fragrance-based range inspired by the South of France in 2019. The scent will debut as a 2,000-bottle “Rose Première by Kelly Rutherford” edition before joining the brand’s permanent lineup.

Another project up her sleeves is a dog shampoo, owing to another friend whose father discovered a product that helps with eczema and is in use in high-end skin care. “So many dogs are having issues now with allergies,” Rutherford said. “She thought, why don’t we put it in a dog shampoo? That’s how it started.”

The throughline of it all is the actress’ magpie eye for knowledge — and the fun she gets from working with people she appreciates.

She also hinted at a desire to go further into the home space one day, albeit only with the right partner. “But it’s a lot to launch a brand when you’re acting,” she said. “What’s nice about these collaborations is that when you’re working with someone really great, they do such a beautiful job and they make you look good. If I found the right partner I trust, I’d love to do more.”