hereas many see jewellery as an embellishment or an indication of an individual’s personality, for Capucine Huguet jewellery is a medium through which to convey a message — specifically to advocate for our planet and environmental awareness. From the themes she explores to the materials she uses, her Capucine H brand is a platform to express ideas on ecology and the environment.

This isn’t some lofty ideal. Capucine Huguet is an activist: she consults with scientists and has travelled to remote corners of the globe to witness the situation for herself. “I work hand-in-hand with scientists for each collection. When I started thinking about the Tetis collection, for example, I contacted marine biologists to understand why phytoplankton are at risk from ocean acidification and this inspired the Cristellaria Echinata brooch, which is the name of a planktonic Foraminifera.” This spiral of 18k recycled gold resembles an ammonite with, at its centre, a stunning 100-carat blue-green topaz that was entrusted to the 28-year-old designer. “I see the diamonds and the perlage of the gold around the stones as representations of photosynthesis,” she says. The brooch made its public debut at GemGenève in 2023.

Capucine Huguet

Even as a young girl, Capucine Huguet was fascinated by gemstones. “I’ve always loved drawing and would tell everyone that when I grew up, I wanted to be a jeweller. At school I was lucky enough to complete a one-week internship with Van Cleef & Arpels and that convinced me. From the very first day, I knew this was what I wanted to do in life.”

Arctic melt symbolised in jewellery

After a science baccalaureate, Capucine Huguet studied the techniques of jewellery-making at Haute Ecole de Joaillerie in Paris, from where she graduated with a Brevet des Métiers d’Art, then moved to London where she enrolled in jewellery design at Central Saint Martins. “That’s when I started thinking about how I could use jewellery to convey my environmental convictions,” she says.

The abrupt forms of the Isfjell ring illustrate the erosion of ice from a glacier.

In 2019 she joined a scientific expedition to Wahlenbergbreen, a glacier at the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, where she was able to question scientists about the melting ice caps. She returned to London with dozens of photographs for reference and the idea to design a collection, for her Master’s degree, that would draw attention to the issue of melting glaciers. She named it Wahlenbergbreen Mementos.

A winner at the 2021 Festival de Hyères

When lockdowns were introduced in 2020, Capucine Huguet had no choice than to go back to Paris, where she was able to finish her designs. But how could she get the collection into the public eye when it was a privilege to even set foot outdoors and gatherings were against the law? By using social media, Capucine was able to take her designs into the world without leaving home, attracting her first customers and getting noticed by professionals in the jewellery sector. In fact her debut collection was awarded a Grand Prix in the Accessories category at the 2021 Festival de Hyères.

The Cristellaria Echinata brooch in recycled gold, set with a 100-carat blue-green topaz, is named after a planktonic Foraminifera.

Capucine H

“I’m convinced jewellery is an art form,” she says. “Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, sculptor Olafur Eliasson and musician Ludovico Einaudi are all inspirations. All three have taken action to raise environmental awareness and I hope to achieve the same through jewellery. Whenever a jewellery house commits to greater sustainability, the first thing they consider is how they source their materials — which is great —, but they rarely think about the ways design can convey a powerful message. As a jewellery artist, I want to put the climate at the heart of the conversation.”

The Foraminifera brooch in black chrome-plated silver and 18k yellow gold, set with a custom-cut citrine from old stock. The sapphires encircling the citrine symbolise the destruction of plankton due to ocean acidification.