Construct + Fawaz Gruosi
“My pursuit of beauty lies in the desire to seek out the life and poetry of stones through exceptional craftsmanship, freed from convention, allowing the stones to tell their own unexpected stories.” - Fawas Gruosi
Fawaz Gruosi sources precious materials to create sublime jewellery, taking influence from the beauty of nature to create singular and rare pieces of art and ornament. By using invaluable materials such as amber, Gruosi’s work showcases the wonders of the natural world in a refined orchestra of light, form and line. Fawaz Gruosi attributes his artistic attitude to his own roots, a blend of ancient Levantine opulence and Florentine Renaissance richness, complemented by his own passion for both antiques and modern art.
To illustrate the splendour of Fawaz Gruosi’s most recent collections, Construct was commissioned to create three physical catalogues to showcase the Amber, High and Fine collections, as well as digital catalogues of the lines.
For the Amber book, our focus was the rich tone of the natural material. We were fascinated by the possibilities it possessed, and how we could manifest the materiality of amber in new textures and forms. For example, we used two oversized ribbon bookmarks within the book to act like the precious resin inside a tree which is matured to beauty over time.
For the High Jewellery collection, we presented a concept that was almost exclusively in black, with a limited palette of black papers, silver Pantone and gloss overlays. This tapped into the psychology of luxury, in which black signifies the ultimate elegance, while providing an elevated canvas for celebrating the shape, form and texture of each piece, treated as its own work of art.
In contrast, the Fine Jewellery collection offered a celebration of colour – a key factor imbued in our concepts for this specific book. We presented the concept in a contemporary editorial format, utilising unique print processes that played with image, colour and material finish to let colour to be the hero.
While the books took different approaches aesthetically, they could be presented together as a complete set, highlighting how all Gruosi pieces, no matter how unique, are connected to the lasting legacy of the brand and the surrounding family of works. We bound the books in materials that connected to each collection through colour, separating them from other catalogues and establishing them as more substantial and long-lasting. To further illustrate this, the art direction took the same consideration and care given to art books through the use of imprints, and included ribbon bookmarks for a subtle yet elevated detail.
Next, the outer packaging. For Amber, we discussed the seductive theatricality of reveal, playing with layers to create a golden gift. We chose sustainable mailer cartons to ship the standard copies, dispatching the rare 100 VIP copies in art crates branded with client identities, creating an enigmatic and unusual conversation piece.
The coloured gems Fawaz Gruosi adores are often juxtaposed, mischievously, with far more humble but no less beautiful or intriguing materials. This exploration of unexpected materials is an essential element of Fawaz Gruosi’s continually evolving aesthetic. He challenges preconceptions of value and preciousness, choosing stones and minerals, bio-organic materials, like coral and amber, as well as high-tech ceramics, purely for their artistic contribution to concept and design, and we wanted this approach and aesthetic ethos to be reflected and respected in the final designs.
