The Lawyer with a sketchbook
A story about creativity, empathy and the courage it takes to rethink jewellery as a man.
Eric Olivier Meier shakes his paint pen until the ball inside it makes a rattling sound. In front of him are three large 3D technical drawings of a pendant for a necklace. He calmly applies gold paint to the setting of the pendant, waits until the paint is dry, then corrects a mistake. The splotches of paint on the table, his fingers and the scrunched-up balls of kitchen roll around him reflect the creative work that’s underway. The incredible thing is that Meier isn’t a designer – he’s actually a renowned commercial lawyer based in Zurich. But let’s start at the beginning.
Originally, Eric Olivier Meier only wanted to pick up a watch– his family had been Beyer customers for generations. But his visit to the atelier one year ago turned out to be life-changing. “In the course of our conversation”, he remembers, “we started talking about men’s jewellery. I’ve always liked jewellery, but I thought it was a shame that only a limited choice is available to men– often just a watch or a wedding ring and that’s it. That’s why it suddenly occurred to me to ask if it would be possible to collaborate with the Beyer goldsmiths to create something of my own . Jewellery atelier manager Željko Gregurek assured him, “Our door is always open for this kind of request.”
Eric Olivier Meier, who spent all his spare time designing jewellery.
FROM EVERY ANGLE
The “Ornamenta” collection from the Beyer jewellery atelier appealed to him instantly, says Eric Olivier Meier. He liked the aesthetic, which is inspired by the ornamentation on Zurich’s Fraumünster, but has a timeless modern twist. Meier took the “Ornamenta” brochure home and noticed that he kept thinking about what his “own” versions would be like. He had something more masculine in mind, something bigger and more striking. One day, he found a piece of paper and began to sketch. “That’s a little unusual for our customers”, smiles Gregurek. “But that’s the great thing about working here. You have conversations and develop ideas and jewellery with unique stories like this one.
First, Meier sketched a bracelet from all angles, with careful shading and painstakingly realised details. But he soon realised how complicated it would be to visually represent a bracelet with elements that run all the way round it. Instead, he decided to ease himself in with something a little simpler, settling on cufflinks and a chain with a pendant. As the basis for his cufflinks, he chose an existing “Ornamenta” design in white gold with diamonds, which complements his dream Patek Philippe watch in white gold with a blue dial and a perpetual calendar. For his pet project, the pendant on a chain, he chose rose gold. He planned to wear the chain under his shirt, so it wouldn’t be visible – but he still wanted it to go well with his Patek Philippe models. The common denominator between the cufflinks and the pendant were three dark blue sapphires.
“YOU WOULDN’T BELIEVE HOW
MANY OPTIONS THERE ARE WHEN
IT COMES TO EYELETS.”
HARDER THAN EXPECTED
Over the next weeks and months, Meier produced countless sketches on his lunch breaks, after work and at the weekends. During this time, he gained real respect for the work of designers: “Scale, proportions, technical solutions: even a simple chain is hugely complicated”, says the perfectionist Meier, who wants to understand every last detail. Laughing, he adds: “My project oscillates between passion and insanity”. The Beyer team’s open-mindedness and expertise were a great help to him: “Željko Gregurek always found the right balance between giving time and taking time.” Step by step, the striking rose gold pendant took shape, with regular input from the goldsmiths. In parallel, the Beyer goldsmith’s department began the hunt for the perfect jewels. “Brilliant-cut sapphires are rare”, explains Gregurek. “Especially with a diameter of 8.9 millimetres, which is what we needed for the pendant.” In addition, they wanted to find stones that weren’t too bright, too transparent, or too purple. After half a year, they found the jewels they were looking for. Meier remembers this moment clearly: “Even though I tend to think more with my head than my heart, as soon as the Beyer staff showed me the sapphires I knew they were the right ones. I didn’t even need to look at them in the daylight.”
A REFINED ADDITION
The sapphires were the finishing touch for the pendant. To be able to visualise the jewellery better, the atelier created two models with the plotter, sized 2.55 and 2.62 centimetres high. But Meier wanted a third model exactly between these two sizes – a difference than most laypeople wouldn't be able to detect. So where did he get his creative streak and his attention to detail from? Meier smiles and says it probably comes from his grandfather, an architect, who did lots of crafts with his grandchildren and helped them develop their skills, dexterity and eye for detail. He also thinks it’s partly in his nature: “If I buy something, it doesn't have to be perfect. But if I design it myself, it needs to turn out exactly how I pictured it.”
For the blue and gold colours on the three technical drawings, Meier went to a stationery shop and bought some paint to experiment with. Once he’d applied colours to the drawings, he tried them on with a chain in front of the mirror to get a better feel for their proportions and overall effect. But even after he’d settled on the medium size, the process wasn’t complete: he still needed to choose the eyelet design. “You wouldn’t believe how many options there are when it comes to eyelets”, says the lawyer, raising his eyebrows. “We spent two sessions deciding. But thankfully I could rely on the team’s experience here, too.” They eventually chose two eyelets to make the chain hang more elegantly, two small stoppers to prevent the chain from slipping through and, as so often in the Beyer atelier, a refined addition: a removable middle piece that allows the chain to be worn in two different lengths.
For Eric Olivier Meier, the last few months have been a very special time: “The chain reflects a creative and almost meditative phase of my life with many hours at my desk, countless sketches and a lot of sticky paint.” For Meier as a man today, wearing jewellery is perhaps related to confidence, and maybe also to the professional standing he has achieved. But most of all, knowing that he has created something of his very own fills him with pride. Who knows? Perhaps the next sketches are already lying on his desk – maybe even for the bracelet he planned originally.
Three rare dark blue sapphires adorn the necklace and cufflinks.
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