Guillaume Elise & Camille Berthaux

Atelier Elise & Berthaux

Stone sculptor

©Laura Quesnelle

©Camille Berthaux

Revitalising and modernising stone

Camille previously trained as a stonemason
Guillaume is a self-taught glyptic artist
Their clients include jewellery makers, watchmakers and private customers

Atelier Elise & Berthaux is a lapidary workshop based in Paris, creating objects in hard stone marquetry for designers, jewellers and watchmakers. Driven by their common passion for stone, Guillaume Elise and Camille Berthaux set up the workshop in 2018, combining their expertise in sculpting, shaping and assembling stone marquetry. Over the last few years, they have created and restored numerous stone marquetry objects including pieces of jewellery, watch dials and boxes. At the moment there are very few people active in this craft, so it's important to these two artisans to perpetuate and modernise this now rare profession, which has such a long and valuable tradition.

Interview

©Guillaume Elise

©Edouard Elias

Why did you choose hard stone marquetry as a career?: It is a profession in which our manual and artistic aspirations come together. We work with a material whose geological history is measured in time and forces that command reflection and humility. The richness of textures, colours and effects is an endless source of inspiration and wonder.
How have you modernised this craft?: Hard stone marquetry is an ancient technique that we modernise with the designs we make, the materials we choose, and the objects to which we apply it. The tools have been modernised but the basic principles remain the same; in that sense the profession retains a continuity since ancient times.
How would you define what you do?: The stones and rocks themselves are very often the starting point for our creations – we seek to make the most of them, to magnify their uniqueness. We take an interesting area and compose associations of colours, textures or effects to get the best out of the stone.
What appeals about working with stone?: To be able to create objects from an incredible variety of natural materials which always exerts a power of fascination due to their origin and beauty. The ornamental stones we use are rich in nuances and imperfections. We are not looking for purity but for a material that has lived.

Guillaume Elise & Camille Berthaux are expert artisans: they began their career in 2010