Victoria Reynolds, chief gemologist and vice-president of high jewellery diamond and gemstone acquisition at Tiffany & Co., has worked with the maison for a remarkable 38 years. She is the first woman to hold the chief gemologist role in the brand’s 188-year history, and was one of the creative forces behind the Blue Book 2025 Sea of Wonder collection.Reynolds is responsible for acquiring all of the jeweller’s diamonds and coloured gemstones, specifically the ones featured in the Blue Book – Tiffany & Co.’s annual high jewellery line. For the latest launch, she worked closely with chief artistic officer Nathalie Verdeille, who chose to reinterpret some of the marine-inspired creations originally designed by the legendary Jean Schlumberger, who started working for the maison in 1956.
Victoria Reynolds, Tiffany & Co.’s chief gemologist and vice-president of high jewellery diamond and gemstone acquisition. Photo: HandoutThe chief gemologist was also instrumental in the recent acquisition of an enormous 7,500-carat kunzite to mark the 60th anniversary of Bird on a Rock, one of Tiffany & Co.’s most admired designs. Style caught up with her at the LVMH-owned label’s high jewellery preview in Hong Kong over the summer.
Tell us about the Blue Book 2025 Sea of Wonder collection.
Tiffany & Co. chief artistic officer Nathalie Verdeille drew inspiration from the brooches of Jean Schlumberger in creating the Blue Book 2025 Sea of Wonder collection. Photo: HandoutIt’s a journey inspired by the great Jean Schlumberger, who was inspired by flora, fauna and especially the ocean. A lot of his most famous brooches – the starfish brooch, the seahorse and the jellyfish – were inspired by the ocean. Sea of Wonder is Nathalie [Verdeille]’s reinterpretation of some [of these] icons, using great gemstones and with a new twist that makes [the collection] more modern. It’s a journey into our heritage but also, very importantly, a nod to modernity in our future.
Can you talk us through the craftsmanship involved?
The Wave necklace from Tiffany & Co.’s Sea of Wonder collection features blue and green cuprian elbaite tourmalines totalling more than 17 carats, framed by over 145 carats of diamonds. Photo: Handout
All of it is extraordinary. The Wave [green and blue cuprian elbaite tourmaline] necklace is a great example, probably the one that I speak of the most. It’s the piece that is most evocative of the craftsmanship in Sea of Wonder – inspired by the water and the waves, and with incredible volume and form. I think if Jean Schlumberger could have made it during the years he was creating for Tiffany, he would have, but [from a technical standpoint,] this piece would have been nearly impossible for him to make. Before you had computer-aided design, to imagine this, to print it in wax and to be able to make those adjustments in volume would have been years and years in the making.
We went with these beautiful cuprian elbaite tourmalines – and we always start with the gemstones; the gemstones inspire the designs – because to Nathalie and to me, they [bring to mind] ocean phosphorescence. Cuprians have a strong electric colour and they also remind me of sea glass and the beautiful blues and greens you find in the ocean. [The Wave] represents extraordinary craftsmanship and savoir faire. It’s very fluid; it sits beautifully on the body and is a statement piece.