GOLD AND DIAMOND EARRINGS, STERLÉ

FLOCHES
‘Floche’ or ‘fil d’ange’ is a technique created by Sterlé, it took him seven years to perfect and brought him well-deserved fame within the jewellery world. The process requires the manipulation of gold into a form of chain mail. His first attempts consisted of simple braided and knotted cords, evoking the admiration of the writer Colette: ‘Tricoté, fin, maille - dans mon pays on dit maillancé-, égayé à chaque maille d'un sable de diamants, oui je l'aime l’or tricoté’. He rediscovered the ‘fil d’ange’ technique during his travels in Egypt, when he visited the museum in Cairo. Inspired by a bracelet that once belonged to Cleopatra, he asked one of his artisans to create a bracelet incorporating the same techniques. It proved to be an incredibly difficult commission which necessitated sixty meters of twisted wire and six thousand solder points. The metal was given a patina by exposing the bracelet outdoors.