It's in the scorching heat of the Parisian summer that the inspired and inspiring Adeline Rapon paid us a visit. Between two shootings to highlight the West Indian diaspora in France, the photographer and influencer talks about one of her many passions: jewelry.
Adeline, a graduate of the Haute École de Joaillerie, was a jeweler for nearly ten years. She has been leading this career with a strong presence on social networks, initiated in 2008 by the creation of a blog mixing photography, art and fashion.
Adeline Rapon
And then in 2020, the confinement comes to upset this balance. Adeline, with 72,000 followers on her Instagram account, decided to return to her first love by devoting herself fully to photography. Of Martinique origin by her father, she questions her West Indian roots through this medium. For example, she created the series "Fanm'fô" ("Strong women") for which she creates contemporary self-portraits inspired by Caribbean women she met in old photographs or paintings.
Adeline's feminist commitment is also evident in the Ébouriffantes project, a comic book imagining a dystopian future in which there would be beauty salons dedicated to hair.
Adeline tells us that her link with jewelry goes back to her childhood. She remembers wearing them at a young age, having her ears pierced at a very young age, a testimony to her West Indian culture. She also evokes her baptismal jewelry, which she still wears, or those that her mother gave her when she was a teenager.
Today, Adeline takes a close look at Creole jewelry. She tells us about the "chou necklace" consisting of a row of gold beads finished with an elaborate clasp, worn on the front of the neck. She explains that much of the West Indian jewelry consists of hijackings of 19th century jewelry, such as the Napoleon III style single earring she wears today. And that's good news: the 19th century is Adeline's favorite period! She finds the jewelry of this period very elegant and refined.
Let's discover his selection.
Origins
These first jewels chosen from the Galerie Pénélope selection reflect the identity of our muse of the day.
Because of her professional deformation, Adeline systematically looks at the back of the jewelry. She is enthusiastic about the delicate openwork of the lion brooch, adorned with diamonds on the front. And then, Leo being her astrological ascendant, she really couldn't pass by our jewel!
The ring, for its part, looks like the one Adeline never leaves. A 19th century model, whose band is engraved with the name of one of its previous owners. On ours, Adeline likes the fact that the diamond is cut in pink, her favorite cut, and mounted on a foil, giving the stone a special sparkle.
This is also the case on our pair of fishplates whose unusual round shape gives them an absolute modernity and is reminiscent of the creoles, earrings of the same name that the natives of the former European plantation colonies.
Strong women
A leitmotif in 19th century jewelry, the snake exerts on Adeline a certain fascination. She tells us about the ring that adorned her right little finger, a snake coiled three times, which was for her like a second skin and which she unfortunately lost. Camille, our founder, is also a great lover of snake jewelry. She often offers them, like our ring with two coiled ophidian creatures whose heads are adorned with diamondsor this turquoise enamel necklace holding a medallion with a braided hair strand, typical of the 1840s. And since we are talking about hair and snakes, Adeline quickly summons Medusa, who is often associated with feminism as a symbol of the perpetual condemnation of women. Moreover, Adeline also likes our single earring adorned with a medieval scourge. The jewel here becomes an armor from which our muse draws strength... if only to fight the patriarchy! Finally, through the fascinating marquise decorated with a opal Adeline evokes, in addition to fin-de-siècle symbolism, the notion of "spell caster", "witch"; an image that is also very strong for the feminist cause.
Art Deco
Adeline also allows herself to select three pieces Art Deco from our collection. Starting with a pair of yellow and white gold sleepers adorned with carved agates. Cameos were very fashionable throughout the 19th century, so this is just a small departure from her love of the period. And then, the jeweler probably recognized the originality of the model, inspired by the Sablaises earrings, from the Sables d'Olonne region.
As for the rush bracelet, Adeline admires the delicate work of the palmettes surrounding the chalcedony. She cites Cleopatra, another "strong woman" who is much loved at Galerie Pénélope (find her in our articles on the snake, the emerald and the pearl).
Finally, the tank ring represents a goal for Adeline: a gift for her fortieth birthday. We can feel the photographer's eye when she explains that she considers this type of jewelry to be more appropriate on hands that have lived more than hers. So there are still several years to go before we pass the milestone, but of course we will be there!
Figa
While waiting for her fortieth birthday, Adeline has already adopted our Figa hand in gold and green tourmaline. Originally from the Mediterranean, the "fig sign", that is to say a closed fist in which the thumb is stuck between the middle finger and the index finger, was initially an insulting gesture (a sort of ancestor of the middle finger). It is also used, through its association with the fig, to trivially evoke the female sex.
However, amulets bearing her image have existed since Roman times: they act as a counter-spell and are intended to ward off the evil eye and increase fertility. Isn't this the most delicate way for Adeline, by appropriating a strong feminine symbol, to assert her deepest convictions? A gold and carnelian model is still available on the site via this link if you want to do the same.
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