Jules Sauer’s Emma Earrings Feature Emeralds Unearthed in the 1960s

Mention Jules Sauer to any gem-world insider, and you’ll get a knowing nod. The French-born jeweler was a true pioneer, as obsessed with the hunt as he was with the craft. At age 18, months before World War II, he fled to Brazil, in search of safety and a new life. He found both—by scouring the country for precious treasures, he became a gem-hunter who, quite literally, left no stone unturned. Now, Sauer’s signature jewels come to the The Vault by Robb Report.

In the 1950s, Sauer made headlines with an 80-pound aquamarine he christened Martha Rocha, after the then Miss Brazil. Its vivid blue reminded him of her eyes, he said. Carved into 50,000 carats of jewels, the aquamarine became a global ambassador for Brazilian craftsmanship, cementing both the country’s reputation for fine gems and Sauer’s name in the industry. Three decades later, he championed another discovery: the electrifying Paraíba tourmaline (named after its Brazilian origin), whose otherworldly blue-green glow mesmerized him.

Sauer’s greatest achievement, though, may have been in Brazilian emeralds. Until the 1960s, the market assumed Colombia had a monopoly on South American supply. When Sauer heard rumors of striking green specimens—dismissed by most as crystals—surfacing in Bahia, he went to see them for himself. What he found looked like emeralds, but brighter than their Colombian cousins, with fewer inclusions and impeccable clarity. Skeptics argued that vanadium, not chromium, was responsible for their color and therefore they couldn’t be “true” emeralds. Sauer thought otherwise. He submitted samples to the Gemological Institute of America (G.I.A.) for verification. The G.I.A. agreed, and the emerald market was never the same.

These new marvels became the hallmark of his namesake house, which also stood out for its lapidary style: setting large stones with minimal cutting to preserve as much of the original rough as possible, emphasizing natural rather than hand-cut beauty.

It’s fitting, then, that longtime Sauer creative director Stephanie Wenk (Jules died in 2017 at 95) turned to emeralds for an exclusive Vault commission. The design, called Emma, draws from the maison’s integrated structure, which allows it to handle everything from sourcing to cutting to design. The brand also holds an enviable archive, which the ever-acquisitive Jules amassed for his own private pleasure: It comprises thousands of finds deemed extraordinary in some way. “The emeralds we used were unearthed by Jules himself in the 1960s and preserved in the archive until this very moment,” she explains. “It is not a practice we take lightly—these stones are tapped only for milestone creations, when the story of the past can be told through a singular jewel designed for the present.”

True to house tradition, the jewels were finished using Sauer’s signature cutting technique, originally developed by Jules to transform rough minerals into luminous centerpieces. Set in 18-karat yellow gold and framed with nearly five carats of brilliant white diamonds, the Emma earrings embody the vision defined by the company’s founder. “I was inspired by his ability to see past the obvious,” Wenk says. “To me, that’s the most profound form of influence.” $273,900

Top: Sauer’s one-of-a-kind Emma earrings, designed by creative director Stephanie Wenk, feature 16.72 carats of Brazilian emeralds.