Our subject

Before the jewel, the material. Before the material, its story. Each material we work with belongs to one of four stories. If it doesn't have a story, it doesn't enter the house.

Gibeon Meteorite

Story I, the ancient material. The iron-nickel formed four billion years ago in the core of a differentiated asteroid. Its fall in Namibia is documented. Etching reveals Widmanstätten patterns, a crystalline design that no one can imitate because it comes from cooling at a rate of one degree every million years. Each fragment is antioxidant-treated before being inlaid.

For the pieces: Cosmos Noire, Cosmos, Galaxie, Aurore.

Damascus Steel

Story II, ancestral craftsmanship. Two hundred layers of steel are heated, folded, hammered, and forge-welded. The final pattern is revealed by acid etching. The technique comes from 7th-century Syrian forges. No Damascus ring has the same design, because the pattern belongs to the blacksmith's gesture, the pressure of his hand, and the temperature difference in the forge that day.

For the piece: Damas.

Precious Opal

Story IV, exceptional provenance. Opal is a fire stone, a play of color caused by light diffraction on silica microspheres. Our Galaxie opal plays in blues and greens. The stone is delicate and sensitive to shocks: it is carefully set in a beveled tungsten ring that protects it.

For the piece: Galaxie.

Bourbon Barrel Wood

Story IV, exceptional provenance. The American white oak spent between six and twelve years in contact with bourbon in Kentucky. It retains the amber color of the whiskey and the vanilla from the barrel. The wood is taken after the barrel is emptied, stabilized with resin, and set in tungsten. Its grain and density come from a single place.

For the piece: Bourbon.

Carbon Fiber

Story III, silent performance. Woven in a 3K pattern, carbon fiber comes from the aerospace industry. Lightweight, unalterable, impervious to moisture and common products. Combined here with an inner ring of red wood for contrast.

For the piece: Carbon.

24K Gold Leaf

Story III, silent performance, with a poetic touch. Pure gold does not change. It does not oxidize and never tarnishes. Our 24K gold leaf is suspended in clear resin within the tungsten. Under light, the flakes appear as powder frozen in motion.

For the piece: L'Alchimiste.

Tungsten Carbide

Story III, silent performance. Tungsten carbide is one of the hardest materials worked in jewelry. Four times the hardness of steel, ten times that of gold. It does not scratch, does not deform, and never loses its blackness. The finish can be brushed matte, mirror polished, or sandblasted. Fifty years of daily wear without any patina.

For the pieces: Cosmos Noire, Cosmos, Bourbon, Galaxie, Alchimiste, Double Ligne, Obsidian, Le Sceau.

18K Rose Gold

Story IV, exceptional provenance. Rose gold gets its color from an alloy of approximately 25% copper. The warm hue is reminiscent of dawn. Our 18K gold (750 thousandths) is hallmarked. Meteorites are set by hand, with pliers, without soldering, by a French workshop.

For the pieces: Cosmos, Aurore, Bourbon, Double Ligne.

The Maison Kardinal Filter

Before a material enters the house, it must answer yes to three questions: can we justify its presence in two sober sentences, will it be as beautiful in ten years as it is today, and can the wearer tell something about it that is not commercial. If the answer is no to even one, we decline.