Boghossian jewel is “signed all over”, recognisable by an aesthetic that melds East and West, by striking colour combinations and, most of all, unprecedented techniques. Important collectors who already own pieces by the grand jewellery houses of Place Vendôme come to Boghossian in search of something different: jewels that resemble works of art. Many of these loyal clients travelled to Monaco in July for the gala dinner hosted at Hôtel de Paris for the launch of the Palace Voyages collection. Clearly they liked what they saw, rising to their feet to applaud the house’s Chief Executive Officer, Albert Boghossian.

Albert Boghossian, CEO, Boghossian

The Boghossian family has been crafting jewellery for 150 years, since patriarch Ovaness Boghossian began work in the ancient city of Mardin, Armenia, in 1868, handing over to subsequent generations. Albert Boghossian represents the fifth. The sixth is already on board. The vagaries of history have forced its members into exile, leaving Armenia for Syria and Aleppo, Lebanon and Beirut, Belgium and Antwerp, Switzerland and Geneva. A journey made out of necessity but one that Albert Boghossian has the delicacy to describe to us as a voyage along the Silk Road. The Boghossians have travel in their blood, scouring the globe in search of treasures. Albert’s father, Robert, was one of the few people to enter China in the 1950s, to buy natural pearls. His uncle, Laurent, traded rough diamonds in Africa while older brother, Jean, has opened new emerging markets for coloured precious stones in India, Thailand, Hong Kong and Colombia.

Albert Boghossian joined the family business in 1978, at the age of 18, and moved to Geneva two years later. His path crossed that of creative director Edmond Chin, formerly with Christie’s and based out of Hong Kong. Together they translate the CEO’s dreams into jewelled realities. For this, and to fulfil his wish to “be different”, Albert Boghossian has revived ancient techniques and invented others. He makes extensive use of inlay, an age-old method of carving one stone and setting another inside it. He imagined the Kissing technique that unites two gemstones, as well as Les Merveilles, a patented, almost invisible setting in which the stones hold each other in place, appearing to float with no metal to secure them.

We met Albert Boghossian at the company’s head office in Geneva, a few weeks prior to the collection’s launch, to learn more about two journeys: one that visits fabled palaces and that of a family business which has crossed centuries.

Europa Star Jewellery: How would you define Boghossian’s style?

Albert Boghossian: As something different that brings a new dimension to the jewellery world. We are a family business, established more than a century and a half ago. I represent the fifth generation, my daughter and my nephews the sixth. From the time we first envisaged launching Boghossian, we wanted to distinguish ourselves from traditional jewellery and so we decided to reintroduce the art of inlay. This is an age-old technique which I discovered when I started travelling to India, where I learned to buy and cut emeralds. I remember marvelling at the Taj Mahal and the art of inlay. I was very young at the time, not much more than eighteen, but subconsciously I was moved by such extraordinary beauty.

The Winter Roses cuff draws its inspiration from the Rose Gate of Jaipur’s City Palace; a tribute to the Goddess Devi and the winter season. Carved rubellite flowers are set atop sea-green prasiolites, using the Kissing technique, while pendants of yellow diamonds are held beneath. ©Boghossian

When you established Boghossian in the early 2000s, you set the bar high in terms of technique.

Cutting a stone, giving it the shape of a ring, setting another stone inside it then securing the entire structure is a complex process, but we relish a challenge and technical innovation is at the heart of all our designs.

On the subject of technique, you’ve invented solutions such as Kissing and Les Merveilles. How would you describe them?

Kissing is the art of having two stones embrace, with the least amount of gold. The idea is that they should be dancing together, with one stone holding the other. This technique is actually an evolution of the art of inlay but in this case there is no incrustation of one stone in another. The key is to achieve the perfect balance that will produce a stunning jewel. Les Merveilles was a first in the industry; the first time jewellery had been set with diamonds on all four sides. You see the jewels and you wonder where the metal is, what’s holding the stones in place? The answer is the construction itself, which is similar to the way bridges were built, with a keystone. The stones hold each other in place, with only the least metal frame. As though the diamonds were floating in thin air.

The Golden Dragon cuff, with polished gold, evokes the shining roof of Bangkok’s Grand Palace. ©Boghossian

In July you launched Palace Voyages, which references 14 palaces across Asia and Europe. Should we see the collection as a tribute to your personal family history, having travelled east to west to escape political upheaval and transforming turmoil into an extraordinary adventure?

Absolutely. Although it shouldn’t be seen solely as a tale of exile. The Armenians, because of their history, have always lived close to the Silk Road. They are craftsmen, masters in the arts of pottery, weaving and jewellery who were constantly on the road, trading and exchanging. My grandfather fled the Ottoman Empire for Syria. My father was one of the first to visit China, in the late 1950s, at the height of Communism, to buy natural pearls. My brother introduced rubies, emeralds and sapphires to the Middle East. From a young age I was travelling to India, Colombia, Burma and Hong Kong. Travel is in our blood, out of necessity, from exile. At Boghossian, East meets West. East, because that is where our family was born and where our roots lie. West, because I’m 65 and have spent more than two thirds of my life in Europe, in Switzerland, as has my brother. It’s our good fortune to have both East and West in us. We chose the palaces theme with Edmond Chin, our creative director, who is originally from Singapore and now lives in Hong Kong. We started thinking about the collection in 2020.

The Verdant Waves necklace references the Ganesh Gate, dedicated to spring, at City Palace, Jaipur (below). ©Boghossian

That would have been at the height of the Covid pandemic, yet you were still considering travel as a theme?

Yes, we wanted to go against the grain of what was happening at the time. The world was in lockdown, there was a sombre mood, but we descend from a people who are known for their resilience and who continue to advance and adapt in the face of adversity. For the previous collection, unveiled in 2018, we took inspiration from the fabrics crafted by civilisations along the Silk Road, from China to Europe, and transcribed them into jewellery. This new collection is a continuation of that, still on the theme of the Silk Road but this time its palaces.

Why palaces?

Because there is nothing more beautiful. These magnificent architectures symbolise a king’s or an emperor’s power, brought to life by the finest artists and craftsmen. We felt this aligned with our history. The journey begins in the Far East at Qianlong Palace in China, progresses through Indonesia, Thailand, India and Persia, continues to Andalusia and ends at Brighton Pavilion in England. We chose 14 palaces which we found particularly striking, and interpreted each one in a literal or figurative way.

Which is the most abstract interpretation?

The Red Fortress suite, which mirrors the colours of the sun setting over the Alhambra. This explains the tanzanite cabochons, when there is no blue in the palace, and pink opal, to capture the magic of the nocturnal sky.

The Midnight Blue ring with its dark blue tanzanite symbolises the night skies behind the Alhambra. ©Boghossian

Perhaps you could give examples of a literal interpretation?

The Jaipur Verdant Waves necklace echoes a gate inside the City Palace in Jaipur. Rendering the colours inspired us to make bold choices, pairing vivid intense yellow diamonds with tourmalines in two shades of green. Another of this palace’s gates inspired us for the Winter Roses bracelet, which we set with yellow diamonds and carved rubellite flowers, from a bud to the open blossom. We set the rubellites on prasiolites. All the stones were specially cut for this bracelet.

The starting point for a high jewellery collection can be the stones, the designs or a story. Which do you prefer?

I might fall for a stone or a set of stones while on my travels and buy them. I then sit down with my creative director and explain how I want to use them. On the other hand, the Palace Voyages collection originated with an idea and we then had to design the pieces and source the stones, which was a more complex process. It took us four years to complete the collection and create the various iterations that would lead to each of the finished jewels.

The Bamboo Blossom cuff interprets the intricate marquetry of the Qianlong Palace, in Beijing’s Forbidden City, in shiny green and matte white jade and diamonds. ©Boghossian

Are those natural pearls in the Petit Château necklace?

Yes, they are. Natural pearls are one of our strengths. I only ever saw my father working with natural pearls and I’d say we are one of a handful of high jewellery houses that dominate this segment. Natural pearls have always been rare. Throughout history, kings, queens and maharajas have worn pearl necklaces. The market fell following the introduction of cultured pearls [in the late 1800s/early 1900s]. It became hard to distinguish between a cultured pearl and a natural pearl, until the late 1980s when laboratories started to find ways to detect them. We had a number of important collectors at that time whom we convinced of the rarity of natural pearls, which were selling at ridiculously low prices. Natural pearls had lost much of their value because of this incoherence. It was like being shown two Picasso paintings for sale, and not knowing which was genuine and which was a copy. The real one loses value simply because no-one dares touch it. We were partly behind the natural pearl revival between 1995 and 2004, because we had clients who were willing to invest. Then the market took off again.

Of all the jewels in the Palace Voyages collection, which would you say was the most complex to make?

I wish I could say which one wasn’t! (laughs). The Golestan White Hall necklace is a highly intricate piece. The back of the rock crystal has been carved using a technique similar to that of the delicate mirrorwork in the palace’s Hall of Mirrors. The Qianlong Bamboo Blossom cuff is another. Its jade marquetry emulates latticework inside the Palace of Tranquil Longevity. The magnolias are carved from a block of white jade. No two are alike. We also inlaid diamonds in each flower, from the inside. There is nothing easy about what we do.

The craftsmanship of the intricate glasswork at Golestan Palace in Tehran is mirrored in the technique used to create the White Hall necklace, where rock crystal has been carved from the back. ©Boghossian

Gemstones have always been a safe haven but has the global crisis prompted a change in the market? Are customers buying more stones as an investment?

A rare stone with the best origin, a Burmese ruby or a Kashmir sapphire, will always hold its value. I’ve been in the business for 45 years; the finest stones were expensive then and are even more expensive now. Today we’re witnessing a dramatic rise in the price of coloured stones which at one time would not have been considered as particularly valuable: Sri Lankan sapphires and Colombian emeralds. Anything that has beauty and quality has seen its value skyrocket. Over the past decade, the price of coloured stones has multiplied by three or four. The same is true of stones that were previously overlooked. Traditionally, people want a blue sapphire but a peachy-pink Padparadscha sapphire is infinitely rarer than a blue stone! We also specialise in Paraiba, which command crazy prices. This turquoise stone is as beautiful in evening light as it is in daylight, whereas a blue sapphire will always appear slightly black in the evening.

The Wheel of Colour necklace is an homage to the complexity of Bahia Palace’s ceilings in Marrakesh. ©Boghossian

Speaking of stones, could you tell us the incredible story of the Crimson Flame, a 15.04-carat ruby that fetched a record price at auction in Hong Kong, in 2015?

I bought it in the 1990s, it had Indian royal provenance. A beautiful pigeon’s blood Burmese ruby of more than five carats is already rare. This one weighed 16 carats! I sold it to a client who sold it back to me a dozen or so years later. There was something particular about this ruby. It was a superb colour, the most gorgeous red you could imagine, but it was slightly saturated and that made it “sleepy”. For years I couldn’t find a buyer then I asked an excellent lapidary to recut it and the ruby burst into life. He removed one carat and introduced enough light and reflections into the stone to create a better balance of colour and vividness. I offered it for sale at Christie’s Hong Kong for US$ 10 million and it set a world record [US$ 18 million or US$1.2 million per carat] that still stands. In fact Boghossian holds a number of world records.

What drives you in your search for remarkable stones?

I always saw my father and uncles with stones. You could say I was born in a pot of gems! It’s part of who I am. I love the magic of stones. One of the interesting things about gemstones, particularly coloured stones, is that they change with their environment. A stone will seem less lovely on a dull day whereas on a bright, sunny day, it will be a gorgeous red or blue.

The Flowing Droplets suite evokes the colour of the sacred pools at Taman Sari Water Castle in Indonesia. ©Boghossian

You mention your roots. What’s left of your ancestors’ collections?

Very little. They didn’t have a collector’s mindset and there was war in the Middle East. I occasionally buy back an old Boghossian jewel, but it’s rare. But I have the soul of a collector and what you see in the display cases behind me is part of a private collection which we began to assemble in the late 1990s; an insight into the finest examples of jewellery from the past 300 years. Whenever I see a beautiful piece of jewellery, a lovely minaudière, a wonderful clock, I buy it. Recently I was able to track down and buy the first pair of earrings we made using the inlay technique, 25 years ago. It was already an extravagant jewel. I was bold enough to pair a blue opal with a green opal and a blue sapphire cabochon with an emerald. You didn’t see many opals in high jewellery at that time and the combination of green with blue was quite daring. Boghossian is known for contrasting colours and textures. We have no rules, no constraints. As long as it’s beautiful. Beauty always sells. We are innovators as well as voyagers.

Many of the major jewellery houses are owned by luxury groups. How are you different from them?

I don’t know if many of today’s businesses have been family-owned for six generations. We’re proud to carry on this tradition and to know that we are in safe hands for the future. We’ve succeeded in making our mark despite the enormous resources of these groups, which have hundreds of stores worldwide and a bottomless marketing budget. We have the passion to do different. We are never afraid to break the mould and that’s what sets us apart.

You and your brother Jean established the Boghossian Foundation in 1992 to fund humanitarian and philanthropic works in Armenia and Lebanon. Can a successful company in a peaceful country turn a blind eye to the state of the world today?

As a business, we can have a role to play in society. My family has always been involved with the community. When Jean and I were starting our careers, we focused on the business and making a success of it. We felt we had drifted away from our roots. When Armenia became independent [in 1991], its economy was in a desperate state and it had suffered a terrible earthquake just a few years earlier. My brother and I felt a pull from within, that we had a role to play other than be successful and make money. We set up a philanthropic foundation with an environmental side. We bought and rehabilitated some public gardens in the Armenian capital, which are now the most visited gardens in the country. We also invested in culture. My brother had built a successful life in Belgium, hence we bought Villa Empain, a beautiful Art Deco building in Brussels which had suffered from years of neglect. We had it restored, designated as a classified building and opened a centre for dialogue between Eastern and Western cultures. Somewhere that would reflect our history and, at a time of conflict between East and West, remind us that there were richer, more beautiful ties between these two civilisations. It’s our way of saying that art and beauty are another expression of exchanges between civilisations.

Albert Boghossian with his daughter, Dalia, and his nephews, Roberto and Ralph.

As a representative of the fifth generation, what are your hopes for Boghossian?

That it continue to bring something new to the jewellery world. I see our history as a relay race, with one generation passing the baton to the next. This is exactly what my grandfather did when he handed over to my father and my uncles, who passed the business to my brother and me. Now it’s the turn of my nephews and my daughter, whom I’ve mentored. My brother, who has always been passionate about art, stepped back from the business 20 years ago and is now an artist. Boghossian is a family affair which I hope will continue well into the future.