Mathon Paris’ Ode to Art Deco

aliyaladhabhoy
10 minutes ago
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Linear lines of diamonds and mother of pearl marquetry take a cue from New York's iconic Art Deco skyscrapers

This year, there is a renewed emphasis on Art Deco as the world celebrates 100 years since the visual style was globally launched at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris in 1925.

French maison Mathon Paris pays an ode to the transcending visual language of Art Deco and its French heritage in its Passages des Panoramas collection. While Art Deco has been a source of inspiration since the brand was founded, Aude Mathon, President of Mathon Paris, reimagines the play of light and its reflections from New York’s tall skyscrapers in its latest additions to the Panoramas line. While Art Deco was launched in Paris, it became a major style in the United States, particularly in New York in the 1930s. Some of the most iconic skyscrapers of New York City, including the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, and Rockefeller Centre, boast of Art Deco elements.

Mathon merges elements from New York’s linear and geometric forms with inspirations from specific Parisian arcades. The collection celebrates architecture at its best by incorporating bold contrasts of textures, colours, and materials. Radiant diamonds are juxtaposed with mother-of-pearl marquetry, creating a visual light display amidst the tapered silhouettes. The pieces also have a hint of movement, making them playful and chic for the modern woman. Some of the pieces, like the necklace, can be adjusted for length, making them versatile for a series of occasions.

“I am very happy to show the new collections, especially since we are celebrating 100 years of Art Deco. I wanted to focus on the Deco style because it is truly important in our inspiration. The main focus is on our Panorama collection at the moment. The idea was to play with light, and we have taken a cue from New York’s tall skyscrapers. We have juxtaposed diamonds, which are very bright and have a good reflection of light, with Mother of Pearl, which has a much softer reflection. Overall, we have used approximately 600 diamonds in this collection,” shares Aude.

A bracelet from the Panoramas collection.

Explosions of colour

While this collection is all about playing with light reflections, Mathon’s Paris’ signature is coloured jewellery. The brand embraces the exuberance of colour through lacquer and vivid gemstones. Apart from Art Deco, nature, sculpture, and exceptional gemstones define Mathon’s design language.

Mathon Paris honours and celebrates French artistry at its best. The brand, rooted in French heritage skilfully straddles the world of Parisian charm with timeless craftsmanship. The process of creating the jewels and the artists that create it are equally important for the maison – a philosophy that was first set forth by the maison’s founder Roger Mathon.

Jewels from the Manhattan and Vivienne collections.

Founder’s Spirit

Founded in 1931, Roger Mathon painted and sculpted and ultimately found jewellery to be his preferred creative medium of expression. Through his jewels, he brought vivid colours to life, which has now become a tagline for the brand.

Inspired by nature, especially the forest, animals, plants, flowers and insects around his countryside house, Mathon’s collections artfully incorporate these organic elements into their pieces. Roger’s children Catherine, Frederic and Pascal also joined in the business, making it a family-led brand.

Today, Roger’s granddaughter Aude Mathon and her husband Jean-Baptiste are at the helm of affairs, keeping Roger’s vision and ethos alive through the company and the jewellery they create.

The Bonbon collection features seven rings featuring unique gemstones.

Mathon, jewellery goes beyond adornment. They wish that each piece enriches the soul, making each creation stand out with a spark of life. The brand has six main themes under which they constantly create new designs.

The historic Bestioles collection features winged beauties such as butterflies, dragonflies, as well as insects like ladybugs and small animals like frogs, immortalised in gold, diamonds and gemstones. Roger Mathon was fascinated by the small insects and animals that he spotted in and around Les Vergers, the family home in the French countryside near the Loiret River. This continues to influence their designs even today. Another collection, Merveilles de la Mer, takes viewers on a deep dive underwater to present seahorses, sea urchins, corals and gorgonians spruced up with gold, diamonds, lacquer and gemstones. Flowers have been an eternal source of inspiration for the brand. Floral bouquets are recreated with a melange of vivid gemstones in their Florilège collection.

The Panoramas collection falls under the larger Passages line, which is inspired by architecture, particularly Art Deco and French architectural marvels like Passage Verdeau, Passage des Panoramas, and Passage Vivienne.

The family home and its surrounding bucolic countryside has fuelled the imagination of Mathon Paris for three generations. The Les Vergers Quatre Saisons pays homage to the founder and the universe of nature through this collection.

The Intemporelles collection is a sophisticated collection comprising contemporary and vintage pieces. These colourful jewellery pieces can be combined, worn in multiple layers and on a daily basis.

Last but not the least the Bonbon collection features seven dazzling rings, each featuring a vibrant, candy-coloured centre stone such as tourmaline, pink sapphire, trillion-cut tanzanite, pink gold citrine and other rare gems which encapsulates the sheer vivacity of Mathon’s jewels.