Design

Solange: Jewellery for Chromantics

London-based jewelry designer Solange Azagury-Partridge’s work has transformed the jewelry industry over the past thirty-five years and left an indelible mark on the art of adornment itself. Her first book is a captivating exploration of the enchanting world she has crafted through her fantasy-filled creations.

Witty, urbane, and edgy, Azagury-Partridge’s jewels are known for their explosive design and provocative themes and characterized by bold and unconventional use of color and material. Her work has gained a dedicated following in the fashion and jewelry industries for its innovation and avant-garde designs that set her apart from more traditional jewelry houses.

Celebrities and tastemakers such as Julianne Moore, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Beyoncé beat a path to Solange’s London boutique, drawn to her iconoclastic, pop-art influenced jewels, playfully irreverent yet subtly layered with cultural and historical meaning and redolent of talismanic traditions. Her expressive rings, alive with color, remain her best-known and most innovative creations. Her love of language and meaning became part of the creative process, informing the names of her collections: Stoned, Chromance, Regalia, Poptails, Scribbles, Sentimentals, Hotlips, and Metamorphosis. Her first book offers a rainbow array of the styles and collections that this singular jeweler has brought to life.

About The Author

In 1987 Solange Azagury-Partridge designed her first jewel, her own engagement ring. Encouraged by friends, she began producing one-of-a-kind creations and, very quickly, a business was born. Clare Phillips is curator in the Department of Decorative Art and Sculpture at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Ruth Peltason is an author, editor, and jewelry historian. Her books include Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry, which made the New York Times Bestseller List, and The Art of David Webb, among others.

  • Publish Date: October 15, 2024
  • Format: Hardcover
  • Category: Design - Jewelry
  • Publisher: Rizzoli
  • Trim Size: 9-1/2 x 11
  • Pages: 272
  • US Price: $95.00
  • CDN Price: $130.00
  • ISBN: 978-0-8478-3302-3

Reviews

"With a very au courant neon green jacket, Solange: Jewellery for Chromantics demands your attention at first sight. And because the 272 pages that follow are just as captivating, this is one book that you can—and should—judge by its cover. The Rizzoli title celebrates the 35-year career of British jewelry designer Solange Azagury-Partridge, who has made a name for herself as one of the go-to jewelers for avant-garde, pop art-influenced pieces. Everyone from Beyoncé and Sarah Jessica Parker to Thandiwe Newton and Julianne Moore has worn her edgy creations, which are, above all else, inspired by joy.
The themed chapters that follow are a true feast for the eyes, featuring dazzling gemstone-filled photos along with insightful text by the designer herself. It’s a book that you’ll pour over time and again for inspiration—and you’ll want to pre-order it now, along with 9 more of the best jewelry books being published this fall.  In the first book about her work, out on October 15, Azagury-Partridge treats longtime fans—as well as those who are unfamiliar with her designs—to a deliciously extravagant curation of her most whimsical pieces. Following a foreword by Victoria and Albert Museum curator Clare Phillips, jewelry historian Ruth Peltason explains how words like “synesthesia,” “veridian,” and “chlorophyll” tie into Azagury-Partridge’s fantasy-fueled, emotionally-driven collections (the latter refers to her emerald, ruby, diamond and lacquer Chlorophyll necklace, which is set in blackened 18-karat white gold and is pictured on the cover of the book)." — ONLY NATURAL DIAMONDS

Author Bookshelf: Clare Phillips

Author Bookshelf: Ruth Peltason