Coming from a family that has been making jewellery since the 15th century in Lebanon, Max Mazlo made his first piece of jewellery – a plastic pendant for Mother’s Day when he was eight. His parents, grandparents, brother, some uncles and cousins all make jewellery so it seems natural for him to choose the path of a jewellery designer.
He learnt jewellery making with his father when he was 16. After that he spent six years in two schools in Paris, one for the techniques of jewellery making and one for the art of jewellery design. In 2008 he opened a small shop in Paris to sell made-to-order jewellery and provide 3D jewellery design and rapid prototyping services.
When asked to describe his style, the designer could not make a general statement because every piece has a different story. He told Hong Kong Jewellery: “I am constantly thinking. Sometimes when I was walking in the street, I would imagine a shape or a colour…This is where my ideas are from.”
Embedded in each of Max Mazlo’s work is a unique story. In Solar System, he has to transcribe the universe in one piece. Green jade was used for the Earth, lavender jade for the Moon and spinel with yellow gold around for the Sun. He also created some stars on the jewellery with yellow diamonds. The back of the pendant is designed to look like craters with black silver. To finish the piece, a white gold detail is added around the edge so that the jewellery resembles a watch or a compass. This last element is exactly round just like the universe which is perfect to contain the elements inside.
Another example is DNA. He originally intended to create a pendant from a cylindrical jade. The shape was too simple. To elevate the design, he added a double helix gold cage set with black diamonds on both ends. The top cap, set with a ruby, resembles a hat. “At the end, it was like an amulet for the jade, and maybe also for the wearer,” he said.
Usually when clients approach him, they are clueless about what they want. So he often tries to transfer the impression his clients gave him into the jewellery. Sometimes he would speak to them for more than one hour in order to find out the reason why they want to create the jewel and their preferences.
To him, this process allows the client to understand that taking time to create a customised jewel that contains a lot of feeling is worth it. “I am proud of my jewels each time when I can transmit an emotion or story inside. It does not only have a beautiful shape, it is a joint creation with my customer,” said the designer.
In the future Max Mazlo wishes to continue to improve his techniques in jewellery making. It is because in his view, people may want different designs, but they always look for the same quality. (Photo courtesy: Max Mazlo)
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