Coucou, me voilà!

Coucou, me voilà!

Louën makes handcrafted jewelry infused with a personal touch, guided by the designer's intuition and inspired by nature, the sea, and the night sky. "Every piece adds to my very own creative little ecosystem, a place of untouched wilderness, a sparkling undiscovered bay of beautiful wearable creatures". Each organic-shaped piece holds a special meaning, serving as little talismans for everyday wear.

The collections feature ageless and sustainably produced rings, necklaces, earrings, and ear cuffs crafted from recycled silver with a thick gold plating, resulting in an effortless look thanks to their handmade nature. Embracing "perfect imperfections", they evoke the feeling like if they would have been formed by nature herself. 

The name "Louën" draws from the ancient Breton language, honoring the designer's French roots by incorporating her mother's Breton last name, Gourlaouën, where "laouën" means "happy," along with the Celtic name "Louen," symbolizing light.

 

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The Designer and Maker

Céline is a German-French jeweler living in Tuscany, Arezzo since 2009. Her love for pearls, stones, and metals started as a kid when she found her mother's treasure box. Her mother was always creative too. At a young age, she started to assemble her own earrings, but this passion was a long-time hobby only, put aside during her communication studies in Berlin. It was later awakened when she started to attend some goldsmith workshops in Florence and slowly turned her passion into a constant obsession: "When I first hit the bench in 2016, it felt like enlightenment: this is what I was missing, this is what I wanted to do in every second of my free time. In the beginning, I made pieces just for myself, my dearest friends, and family. But I could not stop creating, and now I want to offer my jewelry to everyone who shares the same idea of nature, craftsmanship, and effortless beauty."

The Inspiration

Céline enjoyed and still enjoys all her summers in French Brittany, her mother's birthplace. A childhood spent observing marine life on the wild coast of the Atlantic Ocean, jumping barefoot between rocks, playing with shells and stones, mother of pearl, and shimmering sand on the beach, and finally, nights at the beach, staring at the night sky with her father telling stories about the universe. The region, influenced by Celtic culture and known for its rugged beaches, mystical woods, dolmen stones, the wild Atlantic sea, rain, storms, seafoam, oysters, and thriving nature, left a massive imprint on how she perceives nature and beauty.

Learn more about Sustainability & Materials

my world

The Technique 

The designer most loves creating her pieces by hand, using wax that is then molten in the lost wax technique into metal. Using this technique, she also embraces the cast not set technique as it allows her partly cover the stones with metal and to  form the wax with her fingers and finally carving with simple tools. She wants to recreate the feeling of stones and treasures buried int the earth, covered by water or sand.

The Stones

3 Reasons why using Cubic Zirconia

  1. Cubic Zirconia's hardness and heat resistance enable her to employ the cast-not-set technique, incorporating the stones directly into the wax, melting the crystals with the metal, creating a unique and organic feel, as if the stones are still embedded in the earth or shimmering through the sand at the bottom of the sea.
  2. The production process of Cubic Zirconia is entirely transparent and way more sustainable and ethical then mining.
  3. Lab-grown stones have a substantial cost advantage, enabling Louën to offer unique, handmade pieces at a fair price, using the highest quality materials. "I wanted to create jewelry that I enjoy, that my friends enjoy.... and that they can afford!"
Night sky collection with Cubic Zirconia

Sustainabilty

  • The Cubic Zirconia stones are ethically made in Europe, Prague & allow me to work with the cast-not-set technique without using mined diamonds or sapphire (which can be sourced on demand).
  • The 925 Silver is 100% recycled and certified.
  • Made to order avoids stock and over production, using precious resources only when they are needed
  • All Packaging is produced in Denmark and eco friendly certified FSC® guaranteeing that all materials come from sustainably grown woods protecting the natural environment and wildlife. The cotton for the small jewelry bags is organic and fair trade.

The Process: Made-to-Order Pieces

Most of the rings and all pieces containing stones are made to order. While there may be a few available pieces ready to ship, they are limited to certain sizes. The rest is created specifically for you when you place your order. This approach minimizes overproduction, allowing the artist to focus on fulfilling orders and creating new pieces. Consequently, production and shipping times (see our shipping policy) are longer.

PLEASE NOTE: All made to order pieces may, as they are handmade one by one, vary slightly from the image on the screen. If you have any doubts, we will be happy to send a picture for your approval.

The Human Imprint

All pieces are handcrafted, and their beauty often lies in their imperfections. The finishing might be intentionally rougher, representing the artist's choice to leave her fingerprint, quite literally at times, in the pieces. This enhances the fact that they are handmade, not machine-made. Some stones may exhibit what appear to be small natural inclusions, a delightful side effect of the cast-not-set technique, occurring randomly and adding to the uniqueness of each piece.

Starry Starry Night Ring