NAMES TO KNOW (That You May Not Know Yet)

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UNPACKING THE NAMES OF DESIGNERS, MAKERS AND CRAFSTPEOPLE BEHIND SOME OF THE BEST JEWELS YOU CAN FIND

GRUOSI, Fawaz

Few jewellers of the late 20th century disrupted the codes of high jewellery quite like FAWAZ GRUOSI. At a time when the industry was dominated by white diamonds, restrained palettes and heritage maisons, he injected sensuality and glamour. As founder of DE GRISOGONO —and later of FAWAZ GRUOSI, his own brand— he redefined how colour, scale and emotion could coexist in contemporary fine jewellery.

Born in Beirut in 1952 to a Lebanese father and Italian mother, FAWAZ GRUOSI moved to Florence as a child after the early death of his father. Raised amid Renaissance architecture, he developed an instinct for beauty early on. To help support his family, the teenager began working in a Florentine jewellery workshop, learning the fundamentals from the ground up.

GRUOSI left Italy to expand his experience, first in London and then moving into the rarefied world of high jewellery. His formative chapter came at BVLGARI, where he handled VIP clientele. The position gave him extraordinary access to royals, collectors and tastemakers.

In 1993, he took the decisive step of founding DE GRISOGONO in Geneva. From the outset, the house signalled difference. Its very first boutique broke with convention: intimate, dramatic and unconventional in tone. And so were the jewels. He became one of the first super jewellers to champion black diamonds. Soon dubbed the “king of black diamonds”, he paired them with vivid emeralds, rubies, sapphires and unconventional cuts.

DE GRISOGONO was became synonymous with the Cannes film festival. Red carpets became extensions of the atelier: GRUOSI’s jewels were worn by royalty, Hollywood actresses and music icons, reinforcing the house’s boldly glamorous identity.

DE GRISOGONO handled exceptional stones, including some of the world’s most important emeralds. GRUOSI’s approach combined Geneva precision with Mediterranean exuberance, a duality that became the brand’s signature.

Launching his eponymous brand, FAWAZ GRUOSI, in London’s Grosvenor Square in 2021, he returned to a more intimate scale while maintaining the dramatic language that defined his career. After he bowed out of public life three years later, early DE GRISOGONO jewels became increasingly sought after on the secondary market.

For collectors navigating the modern vintage landscape, FAWAZ GRUOSI’s significance lies in his refusal to design quietly.

Mr Gruosi, as his team affectionately called him, proved through and through that high jewellery could be theatrical without losing refinement, sensual without losing craftsmanship.

In an industry rooted in tradition, he chose disruption — and built an empire on it.