Jewellery and watches go hand in hand Launched last year, the Roger Dubuis jewellery collection is growing fast. At the SIHH fair, the watch brand set aside a room for displaying its most innovative and distinctive pieces. 'Mr [Carlos] Dias said he wanted to create an image for the brand,' said Laurence Steiner, the designer behind the jewellery collection. She said the collection had been created to counterbalance the jewellery watches, allowing the brand to offer customers a complete style choice. As such, the look and feel of the watches had a major influence on the jewellery design, she said. 'I wanted to create something very strong,' Ms Steiner said. 'The design of the watches is very strong so I needed to be strong as well, otherwise it wouldn't match. Because the watches' detailing is very important, I decided I would make the jewellery the same.' Most jewellery is designed in two dimensions, Ms Steiner said, but her creations always included a three-dimensional element - they had a different effect when viewed from different angles. The Love Carousel ring is a classic example. A follow up to last year's popular creation, the Heart, the ring's body is covered with invisible-set diamonds, with a bulging ruby-red heart in the centre. The word 'love' repeats around the edge, its skeletal capital letters allowing glimpses into the centre of the ring. 'Normally, when you look at a ring, you look around it. With this ring, you look into it - that's something new for jewellery,' she said. In another large ring design, pearls have been inserted into the outer rim, free to roll about like ball bearings. 'That is quite difficult,' Ms Steiner said. 'Just a small defect in the pearls can have a big effect and they don't work.' The cruciform was one of the main themes from last year's collection, and this year the designer has experimented with more variations on the theme. 'Mr Dias asked for me to include a cross in the collection,' Ms Steiner said. 'I thought about what was on the market and realised that people had never really designed a cross looking from the side.' That opened up a new dimension for the design. Some crosses are large, box-like forms, while others are almost flat - but not quite. In a simple pendant version, Ms Steiner added a curved insert in the centre of the cross. The insert is attached on an axle, leaving it free to swing and adding a dynamic touch to the necklace. Moving parts also feature prominently in some of the other designs. The Medusa Chocolat and Medusa Quartz Rose rings have jewelled tassles hanging from the rim, and the Feuilles d'Olivier necklace is made from a shower of individually linked silver leaves. Ms Steiner said the inspiration for her designs tended to be very specific. 'When I design, I design very precisely,' she said. 'It's like a picture. I know exactly what I want. I don't make 10 or 20 drafts, just one or two, because it is in my mind.'
