“The most beautiful jewel a person can wear are the arms of the person she loves. For those who have had the good fortune of finding this happiness, and those who haven’t yet, I am here…”
Isabelle Lenfant, after Yves Saint Laurent
Heart jewels
Belgian jewellery designer Isabelle Lenfant turns everyday objects into precious jewels, and imprints them with life’s sensibility so that they stay engraved in our memory. She calls them her heart jewels.
For Isabelle, a jewel is a symbol: it evokes a memory, a presence, a protection. It is a second skin, and a suit of armour between the body and the world, against the ups and downs of a life lived to the full. Her wish is that those who wear her pieces make them their own, with their own story and their own secrets.
Her initials, IL, blend the feminine and the masculine. Her collections reimagine everyday objects: a Band-Aid wrapped around a finger, a wrist or the nape of the neck; a silver or gold diamond with real stones set in its split; the branches of a tree, to remind us that we are the only solid foundation of our lives.
Know-how
Every piece is designed and handcrafted in the pure tradition of jewellery: in hand-polished 925 sterling silver, in charcoal-grey oxidised silver, or in 18 carat gold. Chains are joined by links soldered by hand; lockets are hand-cut, and each key is chipped differently, which makes it unique.
Silver is a living material. In time, life tarnishes it, and this too is part of each piece’s individuality. Gold, which time cannot alter, stands for the sparkle we keep in our eyes despite life’s chaos.
Many pieces adapt to the one who wears them: chains in several lengths, precious stones set inside the ring against the skin, wishes and secrets engraved on request.
Heal with the heart: what is essential is invisible to the eye.
The studio is in Brussels, by appointment. Book an appointment for your private visit
