Paris Overseas
Paris Overseas is a concept. Oceans, lagoons, tropical forests, extraordinary places, and cultural fusions are all sources of inspiration that echo our history, our encounters, and our aspirations.
We wanted our objects, ornaments, accessories, linens, decorative items, lighting, posters, postcards, pareos, and cyanotype scarves to be an invitation to travel—a journey where the exotic, the maritime, and the urban often intertwine.
Paris—our anchor, our birthplace, a cosmopolitan city—with its architecture and lifestyle; New York and other megacities; but also exotic, distant landscapes beyond the seas, overseas. Inseparable, complementary, and universal. Everything must evoke both the here and the elsewhere, and carry a touch of dream and escape.
Natural materials—wood, leather, silk, linen, cotton, paper, seashells, glass, and elegant alloys (silver, brass, gold, etc.)— each object is a declaration of love for nature—from corals to trees, fish to birds—but also for architecture, artists, authors, and artisans from around the world; a tribute to all those who help make the world more beautiful (and more livable). Each creation is designed as a tribute to them.
It was only a short step from the concept to the concept store; the e-shop www.parisoverseas.com took that step by becoming a showcase for Paris Overseas creations and Tahatai jewelry, conceived and crafted according to the same symbolism.
Tahatai
If Tahitian pearls are our favorite gemstones, it is because they possess all the qualities and attributes we seek: elegance, uniqueness, a variety of colors and iridescence—but also because it highlights the richness, biodiversity, and fragility of Polynesian coastlines, the lagoons where they are cultivated, and the oceans—all of which are directly linked by their complementary nature—as well as the importance of the bond that unites Polynesians with nature.
Tahatai means “seaside” or “shore” in the Tahitian language. The Polynesian lagoon is the birthplace of the Tahitian pearl (or, more accurately, the Polynesian pearl, since most pearl farms in French Polynesia are located in the Tuamotu or Gambier archipelagos), but the same is true for all saltwater pearls in the South Pacific.
Our jewelry brand, Tahatai, fully embodies this spirit; it draws inspiration from its origins and adorns a great many jewels from the majestic orient of Tahitian pearls, often paired with semi-precious and precious stones, sometimes with shells, and always with natural materials.
Quite naturally, Australian pearls and Japanese Akoya pearls (saltwater) as well as freshwater cultured pearls (from Southeast Asia or China) have gradually come to complement the lagoon pearls with their luster, and add a white or pink iridescent touch to the designs.