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Biography

Philippe Tournaire wanted to understand the world before devoting himself to the sculpture of noble metals. Each time he went to Paris, he spent long hours at the Musée de l’Homme, on the place du Trocadéro. His great fascination for jewelry in its most basic form led him to wonder how the first humans managed to create objects using primitive methods and how they could turn them into fineries and other jewelry ornamentations. This passion fed his imagination, and inspired more creativity to his work.

Initiatory voyages

Today, Philippe Tournaire does not hesitate to use ancestral, even archaic, techniques to create hand-sculpted jewellery, while also incorporating modernity using new technologies. The combination of the two very different techniques gives the final piece an incomparable result.

He is proud to say that he has never been formally trained as a jeweller; it turned out to be fortunate, as it gave him the opportunity to keep a genuine open mind. A more surprising fact is that Philippe Tournaire has a degree in electronics!
For a decade or so, he worked alone in an abandoned cellar that he converted into an atelier. As he modestly says, “I wasn’t looking to make any profit, thus I was able to create with complete freedom of expression, just the way I felt like doing it.”
His solo voyages to Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the US, brought him a great deal of traditional savoir faire along with an understanding of modernity, thus allowing his audience to better comprehend the originality of his jewellery, the roots of which go back some 38 years.


In the beginning, I did not want to work in gold or in noble metals. My first creations were made of pebbles. Then an oil company came up with the idea of an original promotion. Each time the tank was filled, the driver would receive a fine stone. I used these stones in the first pieces of jewellery that I designed for friends. Eventually, by word of mouth, friends of friends began asking me to make wedding rings, medals, engagement rings... Orders came in on a regular basis and soon exceeded my production capacity. Understandably I wanted to exhibit my work, to have a real window display, so that more people could have access to my creations. So, in 1984, I decided to open a boutique in Montbrison, which is near my home town. During this period, I also exhibited in contemporary art shows, especially in Paris, Belgium, and Germany. I benefited greatly from meeting other artists. It forced me to stop being a lonely creator and to move on

A growing fame

In Montbrison, a small town near Saint-Etienne, Philippe’s original and unique style earned him a faithful clientele. His reputation quickly spread, and soon reached Lyon. Philippe decided to open a second store in this city, the capital of the Rhone region. Several exhibitions in specialized shows drew much attention from Parisian but also from international clients. They were a demanding clientele, even blasé, who were always on the look-out for perfection and something fresh. In Paris, he caught the eye of the media. Because of his simplicity, charisma, and of course his talent, Philippe became the target of journalists from the feminine press who were constantly looking for “something else”; This well deserved attention allowed him to open a third store on the prestigious Place Vendôme in 2004. A dream, an accomplishment... not entirely, since he had yet to conquer the rest of the world. The true art of fine jewelry making, this is what this world needed! A jewellery in the noble sense of the term that will please those who share his sensitivity for authenticity.


Philipe Tournaire sees the Place Vendôme as an opening onto a world he wishes to seduce. In 2006, Philippe presented for the first time his artistic achievement to international competition at BaselWorld in Switzerland, the largest convention for the jewelry world. Even with this rising success, Philippe remains serene. This serenity is also strengthened by the growing demand for his work by a well-heeled international clientele. His artistic endeavors are strongly supported by a growing international clientèle.

Defining Philippe’s work, which today involves some 24 people, is not an easy thing. How can you describe the creations of an artist without betraying him? His jewelry speaks for him. It summarizes his first step: enhancing the character of fine stones. One has to see Philippe on his knees on the floor of his atelier surrounded by hundreds of precious gems, looking for the ideal match of colors, for unusual combinations, for the juxtaposition of the sparkle, and the contrast of the polished and the matte. He is happy, like a young child who has just been offered some building blocks. The stones are meticulously selected, placed side by side. They begin to take form and structure in his mind. They create volumes where each stone reigns on its own pedestal, giving birth to rings, pendants, medallions, and bracelets, which make up most of his work.

Philippe once said something that precisely translates his vision of jewelry. The symbol is what gives meaning to life and changes reality. Listening to Philippe speak of his precious rocks as if they were his children, is like letting oneself get carried away in a fairy tale (the symbolism of the jewellery), that represents solace in a world becoming increasingly materialistic and virtual. Poetry also exists in jewelry, and Philippe Tournaire is a wonderful example.