The magic of fine jewelry is its ability to turn everyday objects like a spoon into a wearable piece of art. Jewelry company Alison Lou’s latest collaboration elevates the spoon associated with a Parisian culinary legend.
Alison Chemla, designer and creative director of Alison Lou, worked with Caviar Kaspia to create a six-piece capsule collection featuring the colors, branding, and utensil associated with the caviar purveyor’s iconic tin.
Between the luxury of caviar, the springtime exuberance of Kaspia’s blue, sea green, and warm orange hues, and Chemla’s materials of gold, mother-of-pearl enamel, and pavé black diamonds, the collaboration’s pieces are both whimsical and fine enough to wear to any black-tie event.
The collection launched April 11, and the jewelry is now on display and sale at Caviar Kaspia’s eatery at the Mark hotel in New York City, its Place de la Madeleine location in Paris, and Alison Lou’s Madison Avenue flagship in New York. The pieces can also be purchased through the Alison Lou website. Pricing begins at $500 and goes up to $10,000.
Both Chemla and Caviar Kaspia value collaborations and seek out select partners, Chemla says. Kaspia, which was founded in 1927, has grown its fans through work with artists such as Jacquemus and Carine Roitfeld as well as designers including Jacques Grange and Alexis Mabille.
“I am very particular about the collaborations that we do, and we haven’t done many. But this one just made sense for us and the brand,” Chemla tells JCK. “We have similar clientele, and their strong sense of branding is what I relate to most. I love being able to take an idea and bring it to life, especially when working with an iconic partner like Caviar Kaspia.”
Caviar Kaspia’s location at the Mark hotel opened earlier this year, just months after Alison Lou opened its retail flagship on street level of the Mark building. Caviar Kaspia “happens to be our new neighbor,” Chemla says.
“The stars aligned, and I was able to show them our caviar jewelry pieces that I had made for a collection many years ago,” she says. “They loved them so much that it turned into this collaboration.”
Caviar Kaspia gave Chemla the reins on the design process, trusting her vision for their collaboration, she says, adding that she enjoyed coming up with the designs.
“I started with the hero piece: a diamond caviar locket featuring their logo in handpainted enamel,” she says. “From there, we created more necklace options and huggies, which are a best-seller for us. It took roughly five months for the whole project to come to life.”
Some of Alison Lou’s most popular jewelry is food-related, like the croissant studs and bowtie pasta bracelet. The brand is known for combining an appreciation for luxury and a sense of humor, as evidenced by those pieces and another customer favorite, Pill by the Yard necklace. The Kaspia spoon—available as a pendant or a miniature huggie earring—is also an example of that design philosophy.
“This is the DNA of Alison Lou,” Chemla says. “We love to have fun with our fine jewelry. We experiment with color often and find inspiration in the unexpected.”
Top: The interior of a caviar tin and the spoon traditionally used to serve this fine food became the inspiration behind a collaboration between jewelry designer Alison Chemla and iconic French caviar company Kaspia. (Photos courtesy of Alison Lou)
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