Jean Vendome OR Ohan Tuhdarian
.Jean Vendome was born Ohan Tuhdarian in 1930 Lyon, France. He grew up subsequently in a Parisian suburb. With health problems he could not attend traditional school and yet let his imagination run. Vendome displayed his creative talents from an early age, winning a scholarship in a Paris drawing competition in 1945. He began in jewelry as an apprentice to his uncle, the Parisian Jeweler Der at the age of 13. At 18 years old he decided to work further on his own as he wanted to allow his creativity to run. Without any money to purchase gold or gemstones he would display the drawings of his own jewelry designs in the window of his first shop in a working-class neighborhood of Paris to inspire new clients. He often encouraged clients to redesign their existing jewelry in a more contemporary way. His business grew and by 1970 he was an acclaimed jeweler. The same year he moved to rue Saint-Honoré, near the Place Vendôme, a move that motivated him to change his name to Jean Vendome. Vendome began to use unheard of and unconventional materials like wood and malachite including pieces in the rough. In told he created nearly 37,000 avant-garde pieces. Vendome's designs are often large and formidable and almost art like.
