Made by the
same hands,
from first sketch
to final polish.
No production line. No shortcuts. Every Papillon piece is worked by a small team of jewellers in our Cape Town atelier — measured in hours, not minutes.
What follows is not a manufacturing diagram. It is the honest account of how each piece is made.
Five acts,
in the same room.
Every piece begins on paper. Proportion, balance and weight are resolved before the first cut of metal.
Metal is worked by hand — files, needle files, then the finest abrasives — until surfaces read as one continuous gesture.
Each stone is seated by a master setter. Prongs are cut, burnished and rounded so light enters the stone from every angle.
A patient, layered polish — the finish that only a human hand can leave. No shortcut buffs, no machine sheen.
Signed off by our head jeweller. Nothing leaves the atelier unless it can be inherited.
Precious,
honestly chosen.
We work only in metals and stones we would set into a piece of our own. Origin, hallmark and provenance are part of the record of every commission.
Dense, honest, and the setting of choice for pieces meant to be worn every day.
Yellow, rose and white — alloyed for warmth of colour and endurance of wear.
Where possible, refined from client-owned pieces and studio remnants.
Diamonds and colour, chosen for character over carat and traceable to origin.
The finish
is the piece.
A ring is worn between other objects — a coffee cup, a car key, a wedding band on the same hand. The finish must survive contact and remain quiet.
Papillon pieces are finished with softly broken edges, hand-worked galleries, and interior surfaces polished with the same care as the visible ones — because a well-made piece is well-made on every side.
See a piece being
made in person.
Private atelier tours are offered by appointment. Walk through the process from sketch to setting, at the same bench where your piece would be made.