Designer Profile

It was through a chance meeting with an antiques dealer that Lydia Courteille decided to pursue a career in jewelry design and collection. Ever since then, she has traveled the world over, visiting mines and markets, becoming inspired by new sensations, colors and history. As a free-spirit, she sets her own pace, not afraid to use colors and contrasts that are vibrant and unexpected. A certified gemmologist, Courteille uses her expertise to seek out rare and precious stones, though she tends to favour those with charm and originality. Not allowing her passion for jewels to be temporally confined, she embraces a wide range of historical periods; some of her most ancient stones find their roots in the early 18th century.

When it comes to style suggestions from others, Lydia Courteille does not let them limit her artistic vision. In fact, she happily avoids them. In her world the prosaic notion of "what will sell?" does not exist. After all, is it not the height of luxury to wear a genuine jewel so big and so brilliant that it seems almost impossible that it is not faux?

The Lydia Courteille jewelry pieces at CoutureLab feature spectacular gemstones; diamonds, rubies, green garnets, white and yellow sapphires are combined with semi-precious stones such as jade, pink jasper and onyx in white gold and rhodium settings.