Leslie David Studio’s identity for a fine jewellery brand plays with the idea of duality

Like the beginnings of many creative projects, this collaboration started with a Google search. ‘Who did Glossier’s identity?’ Sarah Eisman typed from New York, in search of a team to help launch her new jewellery company. “Naturally, she found us,” says Leslie David, of the eponymous Paris-based studio, “and we really hit it off”.

Leslie David Studio has worked with a range of brands like Chanel, Prada, Diptyque and Gucci. Many companies want to tell a story about artistic craft and creativity, says Leslie: “But not Sarah. Her approach was different.”

As well as being a designer, Sarah is also an engineer, and her approach to jewellery-making is “extremely technical, methodical and precise”, says Leslie. This duality became central to the development of the brand’s core identity, as well as its website, photography and animation elements that followed. “We wanted to craft a brand identity that feels both meticulous and emotionally resonant – timeless yet undeniably modern,” says Leslie. “We built a world full of this dual energy.”

For example, the campaign is shot nearly entirely in black-and-white, by the photography duo Melanie + Ramon. “We didn’t know how that would land,” says Leslie. After all, the jewellery is colourful – encrusted with precious blue sapphires, vivid rubies and deep emeralds. Removing the radiancy of these precious gems from the visuals was a risk. “But Sarah loved it immediately, and that allowed us to champion light over colour, which was a really interesting exercise,” Leslie says. These timeless and tasteful photos are paired with innovative 3D animations: “Two distinct universes that complement each other.”

The technicality of the jewellery designing process is also reflected in these mesh designs. “Jewellery design often starts with intricate calculations, precise measurements, and a deep understanding of materials,” says Leslie. “We wanted to echo this technical mastery and bring it to the forefront in an elegant way.” Incorporating animation was deliberate too; some of the jewelery contains hidden stones, only visible against certain lights or angles.

Bringing this vision, with so many different elements, to life required a huge amount of trust. “We actually didn’t meet Sarah or the jewels in person for the first six months, until she came to Paris in September for the shoot,” Leslie reveals. “And that is something we most treasure in this project – the mutual trust we created and nurtured.”