Fire and Ice
Paula Crevoshay’s rare hot-hued-gem-and-diamond creations.
By Romy de Courtay
Fifteen years of living and traveling in Southeast Asia left jeweler Paula Crevoshay with the indelible stamp of the region’s cultures and a deep appreciation for the exquisite artistry of its craftsmen. “I studied gold and silver work with local craftsmen in India and Nepal,” she says, “and learned the gem trade and ancient metalworking techniques in Thailand and Sri Lanka.”
That Asian influence has pervaded her work. But since settling on a New Mexico mountaintop in 1999, Crevoshay has also drawn inspiration from nature and the seasons. “Moving here radically changed my palate, my sense of light and my sense of scale,” she exclaims. “The geography opens you so widely!”
Born and bred in Baton Rouge, LA, Crevoshay holds a master’s degree in painting and sculpture from the University of Wisconsin and an undergraduate degree in fine arts from Virginia Commonwealth University. At age 23, after marrying the late Fulbright and Institute of Indian Studies Scholar George Crevoshay, she moved to India.
Rich with the beauty of the lands she visited for many years, Crevoshay creates opulent jewels that explode with color-drenched fire or simmer with wintry coolness. “There’s a spicing of influences in my work,” she says. “It’s a kind of fusion cuisine. I combine and synthesize culture and time periods, mix science and art, and create a new statement.”
Since founding her eponymous company in 1981, Crevoshay has become a celebrity in her field. Her uniquely imaginative creations hold pride of place in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the museum of the Gemological Institute of America, as well as in the homes of a coterie of loyal collectors (including celebrities such as Carly Simon, Naomi Campbell, Joan Lunden and Paula Zahn) whom she calls her “angels. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them,” says the grateful artist, whose work has been compared to Fabergé and Lalique.
Known as the “queen of color,” Crevoshay uses rare stones (she admits to a passion for tourmaline, opals, moonstones, and copper silicates such as smithsonite and chrysocolla) handset in 18K gold, employing labor-intensive techniques. A large green beryl is the striking centerpiece of a pendant topped by a tourmaline sun surrounded with garnet petals and surmounted by a diamond. Sensuous 18K-gold earrings harken to the days of the Raj, thanks to Crevoshay’s signature fleur-de-lis motif in exquisite rubellite and diamonds adorned with delicate dangling leaves. “I’ve always been very sensitive to the human form and where the pieces fit,” says Crevoshay, who claims that she can “lift a cheekbone with the slant of an earring.”
Crevoshay’s collections (the Museum collection, featuring rare stones and retailing for $30,000 to $250,000 and higher for custom pieces; the Gallery collection, offering entry-level pieces from $800 to $7,000; and the Couture collection, which proposes fashion-forward jewels ranging from $5,000 to $30,000) are sold at select retailers nationwide (visit www.crevoshay.com for more information). Each piece is unique and entirely handcrafted at one of Crevoshay’s workshops in the U.S. or Thailand. “I have to do originals,” she asserts, “or it’s not a Crevoshay.” (In fact, major auction houses are said to be studying her work in readiness for its second market.)
The exception to the one-of-a-kind rule is Splash!, a line created after the designer and her partner Martin Bell (who calls himself her impresario and dream-maker) survived the 2004 tsunami while vacationing on Thailand’s Khao Lak beach. Comprised of reverse intaglio carvings of marine creatures on natural quartz crystal, aquamarine, peridot, rose quartz and pearls, the collection retails for $800 to $5,000, ten percent of which goes to the tsunami relief fund.
“I’m fond of saying that I want to set as many gemstones known to mankind as I can,” states the artist. “There’s not a gemstone that I don’t love!” To date, between 5,000 and 7,000 Crevoshay pieces are in private and public hands, and the best is perhaps yet to come. Despite 24 years in the field, Crevoshay has lost none of her passion, her confidence or her sense of purpose. “My work,” she states, “is destined for connoisseurs, museums and history books.”
