Us 7 December 2023

AGNÈS’ “TREASURES”

In conversation with Constance, the designer behind the jewellery crafted from Agnès’s "lost and found beauties" finds. 

Constance Maure has been working for agnès b. for a year, crafting unique jewels from the small objects that Agnès has always liked to find and collect, and which she affectionately calls her “lost and found beauties”. They will go on sale in a few days' time in the women's boutiques of rue du Jour, Vieux Colombier, Versailles and Covent Garden. Constance opens the door of her Parisian workshop, on the ground floor of agnès b.’s head office, to tell us about her process. 

How did you start working with Agnès?

The brand contacted me at the start of 2022, when I was finishing my gemmology degree, to design jewellery for the 2022 Autumn/Winter show using Agnès’s finds. I quickly met her and fell in love with this singular and poetic project. After the show, Agnès wanted to keep working together on creating jewellery that she could sell in her shops. She’s loved collecting objects ever since she was a child: seashells, stones, leaves, flowers, pieces of broken vases or plates, anything she likes and finds beauty in. She showed me all of her treasures and told me their stories, and said “let’s make some unique jewels, because we are all unique!” We then started to design rings, necklaces and brooches from these objects. The jewellery is simple and natural, just the way Agnès and I like it. 

What does a workday look like for you?

When I arrive at my workshop in the morning, I sometimes find a small object with a note from Agnès telling me where it came from. I have a lot of boxes full of these little treasures. I observe them, touch them, get my creative juices flowing and I start designing. Sawing, soldering, sanding until the jewel comes to life. The metal parts are made from scraps of brass, in keeping with the spirit of upcycling. When I have a bronze item, I make a wax sculpture of it and send it to the art caster I work with, in Paris’s 12 arrondissement. I also team up with a Parisian gilder, who I send all my pieces to as a last step. I make all of these jewels myself, by hand, in a tiny area of Paris. I admire the creative freedom and poetry that Agnès breathes into her brand. I feel very lucky: I work my dream job, and I didn’t even know it existed!

Where can we see and buy these jewels?

Since they are one-off pieces, they are not on the brand’s e-shop. At the moment, we regularly organise special sales where we showcase a small selection to agnès b. customers. The first of them was held in the rue du jour shop. After that, we took the jewels to Kyoto, Japan, for the opening of our latest shop. It was a real success because Japanese women love Agnès, she’s a real icon to them. We also took the jewels to the Cannes pop-up shop for the 2023 edition of the film festival, and then to the Montpellier shop.

How do customers react to these creations?

Customers often tell us that they remind them of some objects that they found, that they are fond of but don't always know what to do with. By wearing one of these jewels, they feel like they are wearing a piece of Agnès’ personal story. There is something rather intimate at play here. Agnès often wears these jewels herself, and I’m very touched by that. 

Interview by Camille Dorival