Like Tom Ford and Marc Jacobs before him, Lorenz Bäumer is attempting the rarefied journey from behind-the-curtains mastermind to headlining star. The Paris-based jeweller set up his eponymous standalone boutique next to the Ritz on Place Vendôme two years ago and this July finally ended his longtime collaboration with Louis Vuitton, whose haute joaillerie creations he brought to prominence, having previously designed for Chanel, Cartier, Guerlain and Hermès, among others. Centurion sat down with the man who was a recipient of France’s Légion d’Honneur in 2010; herewith his musings on everything from inspirations to love.

On Bespoke Pieces “I really love
 to make things that are specially made for someone. It’s more than half of what we do. The real
gems in life are these meanings that are so special – love, friendship, time. And
I consider myself, as a jeweller, as accompanying these moments: we highlight them, we give them reality.”

On His Creations “I’ve had my periods. There was a time when I did
a lot of animals. There was a period when I did things that are very inspired by flowers, gardening … Right now
I am in a phase in which I feel very comfortable with things that are either geometric or that have some touch of poetry, such as the engraved diamonds where you can sketch on a diamond or play with words or symbols. And lastly, things inspired by the ocean. I love to surf, so this is something very special and inspiring for me – like, for instance, the shell ring, or a seahorse.”

On His Boutique “We opened
the store two years ago. It was one
of my dreams to be able to be more accessible, so people could just walk in more easily and see what we do. It’s been really very exiting. Clients come from all over the world, but we also have a very large French client base.”

On His Tiara for Charlene, Princess of Monaco “When I was a young child, my mom was just my mom and then she put on some jewellery and became a princess. That really speaks to me because I was able to do that [tiara] that turned somebody normal into a princess – I mean, really. So it’s kind of a dream come true.”

On His Muses “My very first inspirations are my clients. I design jewellery to be worn – they are not abstract pieces to be sculpted and thrown on a wall … There are some ideas that are always with me, like architecture, poetry … And then also I love beautiful stones: sometimes I’ll just focus on a particular stone or a technique.”

On Awards “They were important when I got them. And now that I have them I don’t care about them any more. I appreciate the recognition, but I’m looking at the next step.”

 

Centurion, Q3, 2015

Portrait photo by Roberto Frankenberg