Christophe Moreau - Inspired jeweler

Christophe Moreau was living in London, England in 2002 when he thought about taking a painting course. His friend Peter Spens, an artist, suggested a school, but when Christophe inquired he discovered that the course was full. There was a jewelry-making course that still had room, though, so Christophe took that course instead ... and now he's a jeweler with a growing reputation!

The first piece of jewelry Christophe made was a silver ring he created for a friend. The experience was a revelation that spurred Christophe to enrol in further courses in London and then Montreal, where he now lives.

Christophe particularly likes to work with precious stones, with their range of colors as vast as the rainbow. He keeps a box of gems on his workbench that he refers to constantly for inspiration. He fashions each new piece of jewelry according to his impulse of the moment.

Christophe's preferred metals are 18-karat gold and sterling silver. He often makes pieces that combine the two because he likes the contrast between them. He would use only gold if he could but it's very expensive. Christophe likes the nobility of gold with its neverending brilliance.

Christophe works closely with his clients when he's designing jewelry for them. He prefers when they come to him with an idea rather than asking him to create a design from scratch. He listens carefully to their suggestions and then sketches models for them to choose from. It's important for Christophe to create jewelry that's comfortable for each client. He likes the look of satisfaction on a client's face when they wear a new creation for the first time

Christophe especially admires the talent of one of his teachers, Montreal jeweler Matthieu Cheminée. He also likes the work of several well-established jewelers, such as Boucheron, De Grisogono, Chaumet, Janis Kerman, and Sydney Lynch. The Inspiria collection that Boucheron recently designed with Cirque du Soleil owner Guy Laliberté is on display - for free! - at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts until August 29, 2010.

You can see Christophe's work at his blog: Chrisoff R Joaillier.