LALAOUNIS MARRIES THE ART OF THE MYTH WITH THE DECORATIVE ARTS TO CREATE JEWELLERY OF A RICH AND MYSTERIOUS BEAUTY.

Impassioned by the ghosts of the golden age of Classical Greece, Ilias Lalaounis has created a prolific body of work that is founded in the traditions of one of history's great civilisations.

The art of Lalaounis is at once poetry, philosophy, history and technology and though it is a modern expression of a rich cultural heritage it is inspired by history's finest moments, by the perfection of nature, the beauty and grace of the stars and the wondrous microscopic structures that are the foundations of life itself.

This great jeweller's unique talents have been officially recognised by the French Academy of Fine Arts, which last year admitted Lalaounis to its ranks. The only jeweller to be embraced by the Academy, Lalaounis considered it an honour, not only for himself and for his country but for the art of jewellery itself. In an acceptance speech to the Academy he emphasised that aesthetic evolution is defined not only by the fine arts but also, and to a greater degree, by the applied arts; by furniture, utensils, adornments and the general trappings of everyday life.

Sitting behind his desk amidst the opulent accessories of an internationally successful business empire that spans the major capitals of Athens, Paris, Geneva, New York and London as well as fifteen additional branches throughout the world, Lalaounis speaks with the warmth of the men who frequent the myriad coffee houses of Greece. "I respect fine art very much", he explains, "because the artists are the drivers that guide us. They work with unlimited vision and restrains, but the applied arts and jewellery are significant to the evolution of both civilisation and the aesthetic education of everyone.