Backes & Strauss Colour Cascade: rubies, sapphires and emeralds in spectrum

Backes & Strauss has arranged precious stones in sweeping colour gradients: rubies deepening into purples, purples cooling into blues, sapphires and emeralds moving through the spectrum in what the London jeweller calls the Colour Cascade collection. The concept rests on a single precision: between each coloured stone sits a diamond or white sapphire, allowing light to pass through and isolate each hue so the eye reads them individually rather than as a blur.

The designer’s thinking pivots on how colours illuminate one another. A ruby appears deeper when a pale citrine sits beside it; an emerald gains clarity when bookended by sapphires. Rather than clustering similar tones, each piece places contrasts in dialogue. The white stones between them act as punctuation, giving the eye a moment to settle before the next colour arrives. The mounting is white gold, cleanly wrought, stepping back so the stones themselves command attention.

What marks the collection as distinctly Backes & Strauss thinking is the commitment to the stone over the setting. The house, founded in 1789 by Friedrich Backes in Idar-Oberstein, Germany, and operating from London since 1918, has built its reputation on sourcing exceptional stones and positioning them with technical precision. Here that principle extends: each gemstone is placed at the optimal angle for light penetration, a detail that separates jewellery made for colour from pieces where metalwork dominates the composition. The collection follows the house’s long-established practice of letting the stone itself determine the design.

Each piece varies in scale and composition. Some are compact, with perhaps a dozen stones; others more expansive, allowing for subtler colour shifts across a wider canvas. All follow the same chromatic logic. Prices are set individually according to the stones chosen, their size, colour saturation and origin. Backes & Strauss offers consultation directly to discuss specific preferences in composition, scale and budget. The collection is available to view at the house in London, with pieces available for purchase and custom commission through the showroom and website.

For Backes & Strauss, the London jeweller long known for sourcing exceptional stones and setting them with technical precision, the Colour Cascade collection represents a conceptual turn: a move toward colour as narrative, toward how gemstones can work together as a statement rather than as individual presences.

Each piece varies in scale and composition, but all follow the same chromatic logic. Some are compact, with perhaps a dozen stones. Others are more expansive, allowing for subtler colour shifts and a longer visual experience. This flexibility means a collector might choose a smaller composition for an intimate setting or a larger one for a room that can hold greater complexity, yet all pieces share the same underlying intelligence about how colour relationships function.

The collection is available through Backes & Strauss in London, with pieces available for viewing and commission through the house’s website and showroom.

Backes & Strauss was founded in 1789 by Friedrich Backes in Idar-Oberstein, Germany, a centre renowned for gemstone cutting and polishing, and has operated from London since 1918, building a reputation for sourcing stones of museum quality and setting them with technical refinement. The house remains independent and family-owned, with a client base that includes collectors and institutions across Europe and beyond.

The Colour Cascade collection follows the house’s long-established practice of allowing the stone itself to determine the design. Each piece is built around stones selected for their individual character and their capacity to dialogue with adjacent colours; the white gold settings are fabricated to position each stone at the optimal angle for light penetration, a detail that distinguishes jewellery made for colour from pieces where setting dominates the visual composition.

The collection is available to view at Backes & Strauss in London, with pieces available for purchase and custom commission through the house’s website and showroom. Each work is priced individually according to the stones chosen, their size, colour saturation and origin, with consultation available directly from the house to discuss specific preferences in composition, scale and budget.

Imagery courtesy of Backes & Strauss (@backesandstrauss).