Le Baron Samedi, a jeweler from Sète at the crossroads of arts and legends

Meeting Baron Samedi de Sète means reconnecting with mythology. Above his jeweler's workbench installed in his apartment in the Quartier Haut, sits a lithograph, evoking the “Pouffre soleil”, an allegory of the birth of Sète jousting invented in the 17th century.. “Originally, I was more of a sculptor. I have always been attracted to monsters, creatures, he confides Baron Samedi, alias Jean-Jacques Escalas, pointing to one of his works modeled in pink plastiline. Named “Charybdis and Sylla”, in reference to the dangers of the Strait of Messina. But it was the world of goldsmithing that then imposed itself on him.

A founder for mentor

The adventure begins the year of her own marriage in 2017. “I couldn't find a jeweler to make the design I had made for my wife's ring (decorated with bats set with diamonds, editor's note), so I designed the wax model myself “he says. This lost wax casting technique allows you to create prototypes at will before making them in precious metal. Jean-Jacques ends up having a founding meeting with his future mentor in the profession: a founder based in Mireval, Pascal Henri. “Now, I go see him once a week, we talk about the profession. We have created a very special bond, important to me”.

Sharks, dolphins and cosmic egg

But the journey will be long for the one who is not yet called Baron Samedi. An artist name inspired by voodoo culture. Haitian entity which embodies the spirit of death and resurrection and healing power. “He wakes the dead, creates zombies, blows magic powders”describes Jean-Jacques. Homeric stories, video games, series, painting, cinema, comics today constitute its influences in fine jewelry, above all for men.
In his jewelry bestiary, we find jaws of the legendary Japanese shark Isonade, octopus tentacles, dolphins symbols of Sète, eyes of Targaryen dragons and even the raging sea, worked with elegance and great research. “Here, I am creating an ornament inspired by a cosmic egg, very fashionable in the Victorian era.”
But before giving free rein to his art, Jean-Jacques followed training (Fongecif) in the purest tradition of goldsmithing at the Regional Training Institute for Craft Professions in Nîmes. He learned the gestures at the Poisson jeweler in Nîmes and obtained his CAP. “He is creative, he taught me a lot. How to choose stones, he corrected my gestures a lot. He even bought me a workbench so that I could learn”remembers the Sète craftsman, noted for his qualities of “modeler”.

Workbench on the dining table

“In 2020 I felt ready”. Jean-Jacques decides to strike out on his own and obtains his jeweler's mark. Milling cutters, drills and a suspended motor invade the dining table. His enamel kiln has found a small place in the kitchen. Baron Samedi shares his creative projects on social networks where he communicates directly with his clients for personalized projects. We discover his incredible collaborations with a wide variety of artists (read below). “When I was a sculptor, I worked with other artists. I wanted to preserve the thing, like with the tattoo artist Fred Inkvader with whom I imagined the “Tsunami” series”. Jean-Jacques hopes to be able to open his own workshop and who knows, one day he too will pass on his know-how.