By Ema Lynnx
With his first collection Bubbles & Macarons, the GÉRI House affirms a unique vision of contemporary jewelry. Under the creative direction of Geraldine SamuelThe granddaughter of FRED's founder, the young Parisian house, takes two immediately evocative images—the bubble and the macaron—and transforms them into precious, colorful, and decidedly joyful jewels. It's a way of approaching fine jewelry with serious execution, but without ever sacrificing a light touch.
A new jewelry legacy
In the universe of jeweleryHeritage can be both a strength and a constraint. It transmits a knowledge of stone, a culture of design, and a particular requirement in relation to volumes and finishes. But it can also confine a designer within a history that precedes her.
With Maison GÉRI, Géraldine Samuel seems to be choosing a different path: acknowledging her heritage while forging her own unique style. Her family connection to the history of Maison FRED naturally situates her project within the French jewelry tradition. However, the designer is not seeking to replicate the codes of a particular era or existing house. She is developing a personal universe where emotion, color, and visual humor take center stage.
Maison GÉRI defines itself through modern and narrative jewelry, designed to tell a story rather than simply display the value of a stone. Tradition and audacity meet in creations intended for an international clientele sensitive to exclusivity, but also to the emotional dimension of jewelry.
Bubbles & Macarons, between dream and indulgence
To introduce her aesthetic, Géraldine Samuel chose two forms that are at once simple, familiar and profoundly graphic.
The bubble belongs to the world of childhood. It floats, reflects the light, changes color, and disappears almost instantly. Its beauty lies precisely in its fragile and elusive nature. The macaron, on the other hand, evokes another kind of pleasure: that of French indulgence, pastry refinement, and color.
With Bubbles & MacaronsThese two references are brought together in a single collection. The project could have easily devolved into literal illustration or costume jewelry. Instead, Maison GÉRI chose to treat these motifs with the materials, techniques, and precision inherent to fine jewelry: gold, diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, rubies, and tourmalines.
This contrast is the collection's main appeal. Spontaneous, almost childlike forms are crafted from durable, precious, and demanding materials. The ephemeral becomes permanent. Indulgence becomes adornment. The memory of a soap bubble or a colorful pastry is transformed into an object to be passed down.
The Bubbles: Taming the Light
Line Bubbles It is based on the working of the sphere. In jewelry, this seemingly elementary form demands a true mastery of proportions. Too massive, it loses its lightness. Too small, it no longer produces the desired effect of volume and light.
The necklaces, earrings, and rings in the collection combine white or rose gold spheres with diamonds and sapphires. The gem-set surface captures reflections, giving the pieces an impression of movement. Depending on the angle and lighting, the piece seems to change depth, like a bubble whose surface changes color in the light.
The choice of rose gold accentuates the softness of the design, while white gold enhances its luminous and airy character. The stones are not used solely for their preciousness; they contribute to the visual illusion. The diamond evokes the transparent brilliance of the bubble, while the sapphires bring more intense and contemporary nuances.
This line serves as a reminder that jewelry is not solely based on the rarity of gemstones. It is also an art of light, relief, and movement. How a piece reacts when worn becomes as important as its appearance when it is still.
Macarons: a delicacy transformed into a jewel
Line Macarons It adopts a more figurative inspiration. Brooches, pendants and bracelets take up the rounded silhouette of the French pastry, with its two shells and its central heart.
Colors play a crucial role here. Emeralds, rubies, and tourmalines evoke the vibrant palette of pastry shop windows: tangy greens, pinks, deep reds, or softer pastel shades. Each stone becomes the jewelry equivalent of a fragrance or a delectable hue.
The image presented in the press release, on the second page, clearly summarizes this intention. Several macarons in shades of pink, green, peach, and mauve are framed by jewels paved with green and white stones. The resemblance is immediate, but it also reveals the transposition undertaken by the company: the pastry's curves become set volumes, and the texture of the macaron finds its counterpart in the irregular sparkle of the stones.
The brooch seems particularly well-suited to this approach. Long considered a classic piece, it has now once again become a privileged space for expression for jewelry houses. Worn on a lapel, a dress, a coat, or even in more unexpected ways, it allows for the introduction of a touch of color and whimsy without imposing the symmetry of a necklace or a pair of earrings.
Jewelry that's in tune with the times
Maison GÉRI is part of a fundamental shift: a jewelry industry that is gradually moving away from solemnity. Clients are no longer looking for jewelry reserved solely for special occasions. They want pieces that can accompany their everyday lives, reveal their personality, and evoke a reaction.
In this context, humor and a love of good food are not incompatible with luxury. On the contrary, they can give it a more intimate dimension. A piece of jewelry inspired by a macaron is not merely precious. It evokes a memory, a color, a Parisian address, a stroll, or a shared pleasure.
Luxury then no longer resides solely in display. It lies in the quality of execution, in the choice of a particular stone, and in the feeling that the creation was designed for the person who wears it.
« With Bubbles & Macarons, I wanted to capture the essence of joy and the sweetness of life. " explains Géraldine Samuel. The designer presents her jewelry as an invitation to dream, to have fun and to celebrate the little joys of everyday life.
Made in Paris and customizable
Behind the apparent spontaneity of the designs, Maison GÉRI prides itself on its entirely French manufacturing. Each piece is handcrafted in Parisian workshops, with meticulous attention to detail and finishing.
This local production places the house firmly within the tradition of Parisian jewelry craftsmanship. From the initial design and the refinement of the shapes to the working of the gold, the setting, and the polishing, the creation of a piece of jewelry involves a series of precise steps. The visual lightness of the collection therefore stems from exceptionally masterful execution.
Personalization also plays a significant role in the brand's offerings. Clients can choose the stones, metals, or specific motifs to create a truly personal piece. This bespoke approach allows the collection to transcend its initial concept. A macaron can be designed in a color linked to a special memory. A combination of stones can represent a birth, a meeting, or a family story.
The piece of jewelry then becomes less a finished product and more a starting point. The client participates in the creative process, while the brand adapts its style to individual sensibilities.
Color as a manifesto
For several years now, color has been regaining a major place in jewelry. After a long period dominated by white diamonds and relatively restrained compositions, houses are reintroducing vibrant gems, bold contrasts, and freer combinations.
Bubbles & Macarons is fully part of this evolution. Precious and semi-precious stones are not ranked according to a purely status-based logic. They are chosen for their ability to convey emotion and create a palette.
Emerald can suggest the freshness of a pistachio macaron. Pink tourmaline brings an almost powdery softness. Ruby introduces a deeper intensity. Sapphire, depending on its shade, can evoke both the transparency of a bubble and the color of a confection.
This chromatic freedom helps to make the pieces instantly recognizable. In a market where creations can sometimes look alike, Maison GÉRI makes color and pattern its primary distinguishing features.
With Bubbles & Macarons, Maison GÉRI lays the foundations for a coherent identity. The positioning is clear: French jewelry, made in Paris, customizable and fueled by a joyful imagination.
The challenge now will be to evolve this vocabulary without losing its freshness. The bubble and the macaron are two strong signatures, but they also open up numerous possibilities around color, indulgence, childhood, and...lifestyle French.
For its debut, Maison GÉRI has chosen neither discretion nor traditional displays. Instead, it favors a smiling elegance, where a precious stone can evoke a pastry and a golden sphere can recapture the fragility of a bubble. A less intimidating, but certainly no less demanding, vision of luxury.
