Vhernier by Pae White: between sea and sculpture
A dialogue between contemporary art and jewellery: the Vhernier by Pae White limited-edition collection elevates craftsmanship and transforms the American multidisciplinary artist’s vision into wearable sculptures.
The ten rings of the limited-edition collection share concept and shape, but each one is a unique combination of materials and colours. Like a miniature sculpture, the rings play with scale, material relationships, and natural and technical processes. The iterations, available in two pieces each, are differentiated through precious compositions and their uniqueness highlighted by their distinctive names, each on inspired by the constellations.
The creative collaboration between Vhernier and Pae White kicked off at the Maison’s flagship boutique in Milan and was inspired by the store’s distinctive door handle: a cast bronze crab, elegantly stylized.
Thus emerged the idea of a ring inspired by a crab, capable of evoking the articulations of its carapace. Together with her studio, White explored the complex architecture of the crab’s exoskeleton, refining multiple iterations to translate its organic structure into precious stones and metals through a singular, sculptural gesture.
The encounter with Vhernier’s artisans proved central. In the atelier, Pae White discovered an extraordinary collection of gems and crystals and was captivated by the Maison’s signature Trasparenze technique: rock crystal, paired with coloured gemstones, generates magnification and trompe-l’œil effects. It produces an unstable image, never definitive—a quality that reflects the artist’s exploration between formal abstraction and visual perception.
During her second visit, White brought with her an abalone shell from the Northern California coast, an organic gemstone - also known as mother-of-pearl or haliotis iris - used as ornament for millennia. Its iridescence derives from the structure of the shell and the natural environment in which it grows. Preyed upon by crabs, it becomes here a narrative element: in White’s practice, natural phenomena and the balances of marine life are rendered through materials and shifts in scale.
Sea life as a ring.
The jewel thus reveals itself as a miniature sculpture, the result of an alchemical transformation of matter.
The crab’s shell is stylized, its protrusions evoked by pavé-set stones embedded in gold, while the faceted rock crystal refracts light, recalling the iridescence of abalone and the shimmering liquids.
From digital rendering to handcrafted object, the project takes shape through a dialogue between technology and artisanal savoir-faire.
The collection was first revealed in Los Angeles, at the private residence of Eugenio Lopez, renowned contemporary art collector. After the US preview, the project was presented in May 2026 at Palazzo Soranzo Van Axel in Venice, during the opening days of the city’s world-renowned contemporary art exhibition, highlighting the enduring dialogue between the Maison and the world of art.