auline Laigneau’s background was not in jewellery and her brilliant academic career seemed poised for a very different trajectory, as her love of literature led her to take the Hypokhâgne and Khâgne preparatory classes before attending École Normale Supérieure. Driven by a desire to become a creative, groundbreaking entrepreneur, she opted to study at HEC Paris.
Nothing suggested she would co-found a jewellery brand, until the day she set out in search of her engagement ring. Faced with row upon row of solitaire diamonds set in white gold, she realised there was room for a brand that would offer something different: namely choice in terms of colours, materials and shapes. Gemmyo was born out of frustration combined with a sudden passion for a craft she hadn’t—yet—mastered.
In 2011, alongside her husband Charif Debs, Pauline Laigneau founded Gemmyo, a jewellery brand that has successfully reinvented the concept of bespoke design. Fifteen years on, the jewellery house has nine boutiques and a Zürich-based Gemmyo Residence, while in January 2026 it announced the acquisition of a stake in the French jewellery workshop Callistorea.
Europa Star Jewellery: When you founded Gemmyo in 2011, you opted for a stock-free, made-to-order model long before slow production gained traction. Was this an economic, ethical or intuitive choice?
Pauline Laigneau: An entirely intuitive one. My husband and I did things our own way, with a great deal of free-spirited independence. Normally when launching a jewellery brand, you create an initial collection, distribute it to retailers and then open a shop. We didn’t envision things that way at all, instead opting to give clients the opportunity to select the gem, the metal and the engraving on the jewellery we would craft for them. Although a bit tricky to put into practice, as it meant finding workshops willing to do this for us, it’s a less financially restrictive choice. We’re among the few jewellers to craft bespoke pieces across almost every price range and we were pioneers back in 2011.
In 2025 you created a small collection featuring mint tourmalines and blue-grey sapphires, while in January 2026 you launched a limited edition set with Malaya garnets. What attracts you to these lesser-known stones?
I’ve always seen us as hunters on the lookout for real finds. Although I love rubies, sapphires and emeralds, they are well-known stones, whereas a green or a blue-grey sapphire from an alluvial source in Tanzania—we are the only ones able to offer them at this level of quality—are hidden treasures. Offering such a wide spectrum of coloured stones with perfect accuracy in terms of shades is part of our expertise. Malaya garnets are also unfamiliar to the general public and I seek out a very specific undertone for our jewellery: the one I find most beautiful. We are colour artisans. I am of Armenian origin and my artist mother always told me that in our family, we have a long history of being sensitive to colour. My great-grandparents were weavers and made dyes.
The collection set with Malaya garnets is a limited edition. Does that mean you won’t be making any more jewellery with this stone?
We don’t intentionally create scarcity: stones like these simply cannot be found! That’s also what true luxury is about: the clients who have purchased these pieces will own a rare, beautiful stone that suits them perfectly, as they chose it themselves.
Gemmyo is a couple’s brand. How do you and your husband each bring your particular strengths to the business?
My husband is an engineer by training and he contributes discipline, a sense of precision and high standards, whereas I bring my creativity and sensitivity. I love to evoke emotions. I love it when a client tells me she’s treated herself to one of our pieces because she had experienced a significant life moment and wished to immortalise it in stone and metal. Our success is based on a combination of this drive to execute, these high standards and this awareness.
How have you assigned respective roles within the company?
For a long time we took decisions jointly, but a year and a half ago, we learned to divide up roles more effectively. I became the brand’s creative director and my husband focuses on brand development. At that point, we asked Sophie Garric to join us as CEO to support us in developing the brand.
A career is never linear, as you are well aware, since you regularly interview entrepreneurs on your podcast. Was there a pivotal point in your journey that enabled you to go further?
There have been several, but the most recent was when I decided to become creative director. For a long time, my role was that of a businesswoman and I refused to take charge of the creative side because I didn’t feel I had the credibility to do so. This was actually frustrating for the teams because I was always voicing my opinions and didn’t give the people in those roles the freedom to fully express their vision. That was a mistake on my part as we weren’t entirely one thing nor another, which I think had a negative impact on Gemmyo’s image, as people sensed a lack of consistency. When the new CEO Sophie Garric arrived in 2024, she realised that I needed to be officially appointed as creative director and that I should stop making suggestions “under the radar”. She gave me confidence by telling me that this brand was me. It was a transition period, but I now feel I’m in the right place because this role enables me to express my creativity.
Why have you chosen to have your jewellery crafted exclusively in French workshops?
We took that decision from the very beginning. I’m proud to be French and to have created a French brand. While not everything works perfectly in France, the French have good taste, style and an ability to recognise beautiful things. In the same way, when we wanted to create a watch, we turned to a Manufacture in Switzerland. I like to seek out expertise wherever it is found. In fact we have taken a stake in the Callistorea workshop so that we can be as close as possible to the artisans. It’s a way for us to support their remarkable work, to provide them with security and to secure our supply.
You and your husband have settled by Lake Lucerne, in Weggis. Why choose Switzerland as your home?
Because it’s the most beautiful place on Earth! I fell in love with this region. We’d come to visit a friend in Zürich and she said, “I’m going to take you to a magnificent place.” When we arrived, I was blown away! It’s so beautiful, so peaceful. I turned to my husband and said, “I want to live here.” He thought I was mad because at the time we were living in Paris and running a company with 50 employees. But in the end, we did it. It just goes to show that one must dare to dream… This place actually inspired a collection centred on a teal sapphire, a dichroic stone whose colour changes with the light, shifting from blue to green: exactly the same shade as the lake.
Of all the jewellery you own, is there one piece that’s more symbolic than the others?
Yes. The earring my husband gave me for my 40th birthday. He asked if I’d like him to give me jewellery and I said yes, providing I could design it myself. This earring is very precious to me because it was the first time I took the liberty of creating a piece of jewellery for myself. It is set with a medley of chocolate and cognac diamonds and it epitomises what I want to achieve with Gemmyo: exquisite, refined and precious jewellery that remains wearable. A year later I became creative director and the brand began to take on a whole new dimension.
