Ilias Lalaounis, A Set of Emerald, Ruby and Gold Jewelry. Estimate $3,000 - 5,000. Jewels & More: Online Auction.
He was determined to bring the aesthetic of antiquity into modernity.
Treasured for its beauty and value, gold was a symbol of power and wealth to the ancient Greeks, who wove the warm-hued metal into their culture and heritage for thousands of years. The Mycenaean civilization (described by Homer as being “rich in gold”) and the Hellenistic and the Byzantine periods all left behind exquisite gold treasures and objets d’art. These precious artifacts, housed in museums around the world, are rare examples of master goldsmithing techniques that were lost for thousands of years—until 1957 when Ilias Lalaounis revived the ancient Greek traditions.
Ilias Lalaounis was born into a multigenerational goldsmithing and watchmaking family whose workshop and residence sat below the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. As a young craftsman in 1940, Ilias became CEO of Zolotas, a jewelry house started by his uncle in 1895 that still makes jewelry. While working for his uncle’s firm, Ilias was approached by two women who had admired two beautiful Mycenae brooches in a museum and wanted to have reproductions made. A fortuitous commission that set Ilias Lalaounis on a path to becoming a master of age-old goldsmithing techniques and the international leader of the modern revival of Ancient Greek traditions in jewelry.
Ilias Lalaounis, A Gold Necklace. Estimate $6,000 - 8,000. Jewels & More: Online Auction.
After countless hours analyzing antiquity collections in museums, Ilias Lalaounis and his team of craftsmen mastered the ancient techniques, including hammered gold, granulation, repoussé, and filigree. This exploratory period produced an extensive collection of reproduction museum pieces that would go on exhibition at the Thessaloniki International Fair in 1957. The robust 22 karat gold jewelry on display was a striking departure from the European jewelry aesthetic popular in 1957, and the reviews were mixed. But Ilias believed there was a story to tell, and he was determined to bring the aesthetic of antiquity into modernity.
Ilias saw jewelry as an artistic tradition of which he held three core beliefs: jewelry is a work of art equal to that of fine art; jewelry holds tremendous sentimental value and develops an emotional bond with the wearer; and each piece of jewelry carries a message and tells a story.
Ilias Lalaounis, A Sodalite and Gold Pendant Necklace. Estimate $2,500 - 3,500. Jewels & More: Online Auction.
With a clear vision and strong ethos, Ilias Lalaounis opened his firm in 1969. A prolific artist, he found inspiration in specific periods of ancient art, ancient civilizations, and, of course, ancient Greece. Favoring 22 karat gold for its warmth and texture, Ilias created 50 jewelry collections totaling 18,000 designs.
Globally recognized as an icon of art and design, Ilias Lalaounis’s works have been exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Smithsonian, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, la Chapelle de la Sorbonne, and the Pushkin Museum. François Mitterrand awarded Lalaounis the Chevalier degree of the Légion d’honneur, and he is the only jeweler to be inducted to the Académie des Beaux-Arts.
The accolades extended beyond the art world. Lalaounis jewelry has been featured on covers of major fashion magazines and kissed the skin of fashion icons like Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor, Brigitte Bardot, Oprah, and Rihanna.
With stores worldwide, the Lalaounis workshop moved to a larger facility in 1993, and the original workshop in Athens became the Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum. Over 4,500 pieces of jewelry and objects from the original 50 collections belong to the permanent collection.
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