Why is Delfina Delettrez jewellery so expensive?+
You are paying for fine jewellery made in precious metals and gemstones by a designer with serious art-world standing. Delfina Delettrez's pieces are crafted from precious metals and stones, and her work has been collected by institutions, with the Paris Musée des Arts Décoratifs acquiring two of her pieces for its permanent collection as early as 2009. This is collectible, artistically conceived jewellery rather than mass-market accessories, and the price reflects that.
What is Delfina Delettrez's signature eye motif?+
The eye is her most recognisable signature. Her designs are built on figurative surrealism and natural iconography, including animals, hands and lips, alongside what is described as her new signature eye design. That surreal, anatomical language, eyes, hands and lips rendered in gold and gemstones, is what makes a piece instantly identifiable as hers.
Is Delfina Delettrez part of the Fendi family?+
Yes. Delfina Delettrez Fendi is the fourth-generation heiress of the Fendi family, the Italian luxury fashion house. She has built an independent jewellery name of her own rather than simply working within Fendi, and she has also collaborated with the house, but the Fendi lineage is very much part of her story.
Who founded Delfina Delettrez and when?+
The designer Delfina Delettrez Fendi, born in 1987, founded her own company, Delfina Delettrez, in 2007. She did so with the help of her father, Bernard Delettrez, a well-known jewellery maker, who passed on both his know-how and his own brand symbol, a motif that had been designed for him years earlier by Karl Lagerfeld.
Is the Delfina Delettrez logo really designed by Karl Lagerfeld?+
In effect, yes, by way of her father. The brand symbol Delfina inherited was originally designed by Karl Lagerfeld for her father, Bernard Delettrez, many years before she started her own line in 2007. When Bernard helped Delfina launch her company, he gave her that symbol, so a Lagerfeld-designed motif sits at the heart of the brand's identity.
Where is Delfina Delettrez based and where is the jewellery made?+
Delfina Delettrez is an Italian designer and jeweller based in Rome, and that Italian fine-jewellery tradition runs through the work. She founded her company there in 2007 and has shown across Europe, including a presentation of her Metalphysic collection at the Louvre's Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 2012.
Is Delfina Delettrez a respected name in the jewellery world?+
Very much so. In March 2012 she showed her Metalphysic collection at the Louvre's Musée des Arts Décoratifs, becoming the youngest designer ever showcased at that institution. In 2013 she was named to the BoF 500, the people shaping the global fashion industry, and in 2016 she appeared on Forbes magazine's 30 Under 30 list of the brightest young entrepreneurs.
How would you describe the Delfina Delettrez aesthetic?+
Think avant-garde and a little surreal rather than conventional sparkle. Her pieces draw on figurative surrealism and natural iconography, animals, hands, lips and her signature eye, turning anatomical and natural forms into fine jewellery. It is jewellery with a sense of wit and the uncanny, which is exactly what set her apart early on.
Which brands has Delfina Delettrez collaborated with?+
Her collaborations span fashion houses and concept stores alike. She has worked with names including Kenzo, the Miami-based concept store The Webster, Dover Street Market, Diamond Foundry and Fendi. That range, from avant-garde retailers to a sustainable-diamond producer, reflects how she sits between the art, jewellery and fashion worlds.
Where can I buy authentic Delfina Delettrez pieces?+
Because these are fine-jewellery pieces in precious metals and stones, stick to the designer's own channels and the high-end retailers she partners with, such as Dover Street Market and The Webster. Buying through recognised stockists is the surest way to know a piece is genuine and properly made, which matters a great deal with collectible jewellery at this level.
