Solange Azagury-Partridge’s decadent jewelry hits home.

Describing the motivation behind her first interiors collection, British designer Solange Azagury-Partridge says, “Some themes are a constant inspiration to me because they suggest infinite variations of approach.” The pieces in Unwearable Jewels, a series that incorporates iconic images like the rainbow, the human eye, and the moon, translate Azagury-Partridge’s jewelry vernacular into more weighted objects: something akin to a sculptural painting, rendered in precious materials.

“These motifs are universal and very personal at the same time,” she explains. “My representations have some ambiguity to encourage the owner to apply their own meaning to the form. I approach the use of such symbols from the perspective of whether they are robust enough to withstand an aesthetic overhaul while maintaining the integrity of their intrinsic meaning.”

Unwearable Jewels are meant for a privileged place within the home, to be hung on the wall or displayed in each piece’s decadent mink-and-ebony box. “They’re intended to be incorporated into people’s daily lives in whichever way they see fit,” the designer says. “I love the idea of all precious things being part of life, so having the pieces in a kitchen, bathroom, sitting room, bedroom—anywhere, as long as they are looked upon and loved—I’d be happy. The mink is intended to be the ultimate in lining material, and it’s an idea we first explored at [French jewelry house] Boucheron for the packaging. In combination with the natural ebony, we felt like we were celebrating all aspects of the pieces, not just the jewels themselves.”

Such a luxurious framing device is certainly appropriate considering each work’s composition. Rainbow alone incorporates ruby, malachite, lapis, rose quartz, mother-of-pearl, rock crystal, black obsidian, diamonds, gold-gilded bronze, chalcedony, amethyst, and agate to achieve its bold, multicolored surface. “This series allowed me to offer aspects of my aesthetic for pure decoration, accessible beyond one’s self,” Azagury-Partridge says. “It was nice to be able to create jewels that sit within an environment, rather than on the body.”

These elegant objects are part of a larger suite that includes a massive, sinuous chandelier—constructed, Azagury-Partridge says, of 200 carats of diamonds and nine pounds of blackened white gold; the Ballcrusher lamp, which builds from a form she has previously flaunted in jewelry; the Cosmic Mirrorball, akin to a hanging sculpture, in polished steel; and a range of rugs and coffee tables, some of which play on the image of a rainbow. “I love interiors, both as an opportunity to decorate and as a shelter, a haven,” Azagury-Partridge says. “It felt appropriate to create special gifts to adorn and celebrate the home.”

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    Scott Indrisek

    Scott is the executive editor of Modern Painters and the founder of Brant Watch. He lives in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, with two erudite cats.