Caroline Van Hoek Mategoh Earrings

The 18-carat gold Mategoh Earrings, from jewellery designer Caroline van Hoek, combines the heights of mid-century French design with contemporary jewellery.

Van Hoek’s Mategoh collection takes inspiration from the furniture of renowned French designer Mathieu Matégot, who used repeated patterns of perforation across metal sheets to achieve a levity within his domestic designs. These earrings are modelled on a Matégot table, with their bold geometric cut-outs intentionally asymmetrical, meaning each earring can be worn separately if so desired.

Van Hoek contrasts Matégot’s machine-made, metal furniture with her own handmade process. It is not her intention to copy the French master’s technique, but to translate the simplicity of the design in her own way, to hint at the art historical reference.