Pearly Queen: Melanie Georgacopolous

 Faceted black pearl pendant on 18ct gold chain

The use of pearls in fine jewellery is no big news. Hannah Martin has made the black/grey varieties cool, resulting in a legion of copycat designer following suit; and costume jewellery labels such as Erikson Beamon and Mawi are constantly playing with scale, volume and colour to give them a fresh look. 

But it’s very rare that a designer really explores and works with the pearl to the extent of Melanie Georgacopoulos.

A french/greek jewellery designer, Melanie has chopped, pierced, faceted (see both above images, and below for more detail) and 're-composed' the pearls in her designs without losing any of the natural lustre or sense of quality in the material. 

The images speak for themselves, but we are seriously enamoured with the faceted pearl pendants (above) and the 're-composed' black and white bracelet and pendant. Amazing. How? We've never seen anything like this.

'Arlequin' Bracelet: Re-composed black and white pearl bracelet

'Arlequin' Pendant: Re-composed black and white pearl pendant on 18ct gold chain

The extent of the collection is impressive – from tiny, single pearls on a chain to full-blown showpieces – that is a lot of scope to cover well. And Melanie has really managed to keep her contemporary, playful style throughout, from the finer to a ‘couture’ level.

Cascade of white pearls and oxidised silver chains

These large-scale neckpieces illustrate Melanie's skill in design as well as technical ability. The hugely intricate pieces are extremely wearable - occupying that tough area of show-piece that is comfortable and easy. 

Cascade of white pearls and oxidised silver chains (worn back to front)

  

'99 Steps' Silver oxidised chains and white freshwater pearls

The level of craftsmanship is astounding – anyone who has seen a badly drilled pearl will know that it is an easy material to damage. The seams on the 'Arlequin' range are invisible, and the beautiful polish of the Faceted range result in a style unlike anything else we’ve seen on the market...swoon...

Being comfortable, creative and skilled enough to take a range right through from tiny scale, high-end, quite conceptual pieces; to highly fashion-forward, verging-on-couture show-stoppers is very impressive. The range is flawless - we've probably gone a little OTT with the number of photos used on the post, but we can't help it.

'Canonball' Ring. 13mm white freshwater pearl and 9ct gold

'Double Canonball' open ring

We'll add more images in the next few weeks...in the meantime have a look at her beautiful website - contact the designer directly through this to buy. Dover St Market in London W1 are also a stockist...

All images copyright Melanie Georgacopolous 2010