Look Book

48 | The Jewelr y Book by Michael Shulman 'Waikoloa' Pineapple Pendant (from the "Fruits" collection) featuring 299 diamond-cut African Orange and Yellow Sapphires (11.10ctw) and 214 diamond- cut Tsavorites (7.55ctw) set in a figural 'pineapple' pendant of 18k Gold; suspended from a 22.50" chain of 18k Gold featuring 18 oval-shaped bezel-set African Orange and Yellow Sapphires (16.23ctw). 'Silk Route' Bracelet featuring 208 diamond- cut Sri Lankan White Sapphires (25.50ctw), 272 diamond-cut African Rubies (25.10ctw), and 240 diamond-cut Sri Lankan Sapphires (24.90ctw) set in 18k White Gold. 'Bells of Notre Dame' Earrings featuring 2 fancy bell-shaped cabochon-cut African Rubellites (90.30ctw), 2 oval- cut Sri Lankan Pink Sapphires (9.30ctw), 2 pear- cut Colombian Emeralds (2.97ctw), 2 emerald-cut Diamonds (1.22ctw), and 48 brilliant-cut Diamonds (0.53ctw) set in 18k Gold. W H E N I T H I N K A B O U T the jewelry designed by Alexander Laut, a few things come to mind: he eschews matching sets and parures, especially in High Jewelry, instead steering his clients to take a more à la carte approach, with cocktail rings comprising the lynchpin of his collections; that he's an aficionado of large, rare, colored stones; and that to his way of thinking, wearing High Jewelry can and should be fun, and not limited exclusively to red carpets and galas. One thing that makes Laut an outlier among his peers is the unconventional and rather circuitous route he took to becoming a jewelry designer. Born in Moscow, to a mechanical engineer father and a medical doctor mother, Laut was a good student, graduated, and went on to receive his MD. However, finding himself with a degree in a field he wasn't particularly enthusiastic about, he decided to leave Russia and emigrate to the United States, succumbing to the siren song of Hawaii. ere, he tried his hand at journalism and photography, worked as a travel agent, and even owned an art gallery. But it was his lifelong love of minerals and gemstones that drew him toward jewelry design. Back in Moscow, Laut's mother had collected quite a bit of jewelry, and since his parents kept a microscope in their home, he figured he'd examine her jewelry to see what the stones had to say. As it turns out, they spoke volumes, and it was in this manner that the young autodidact taught himself about translucence, inclusions, clarity, composition, crystals, opalescence, and myriad other aspects of gemology. Malagasy Sapphire Ring (from the "de Jaeger" collection) featuring an oval-shaped heat- treated Yellow Malagasy Sapphire (3.96cts), set in a ring of 18k Rose Gold with a satin finish. W E A R A B L E P R O Z A C " Jewelry sets can be boring and costly. You can achieve the same effect with one substantial piece of jewelry." —Alexander Laut 'The Universe' Ring (from the "Paraiba" collection) featuring a cabochon-cut Paraiba (14.98cts) with 28 brilliant-cut Blue and Green Diamonds (2.20ctw), set in 18k White Gold with a satin finish. ALEXANDER LAUT: WHIMSICALLY REINTERPRETING HIGH JEWELRY FOR TODAY

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