Classical decorative inlay art includes intricately carved floral patterns and entwining geometric shapes embedded with finely coloured precious and semiprecious stones. This cover design is a fine example of these hallmarks of the inlay decorative technique and was captured by the renowned travel and architecture photographer Gérard Degeorge.

Degeorge has spent much of his career travelling the world and photographing its artistic riches. Particularly enraptured with Eastern and Islamic art, Degeorge’s globetrotting has led him to capture some of the most distinctive glazed and brightly coloured tiling the world has to offer. He has accumulated a vast collection of nearly 50,000 slides from his travels, one photograph from which we have reproduced for our Thai Gems design.

We originally released this Thai Gems design in Spring 2003 as part of our Intricate Inlays series. We are delighted to bring this unique example of inlay artistry back to the Paperblanks collection for Fall 2025. Perhaps some of Degeorge’s passion for the art and culture of the Arab-Muslim world will inspire you to document the wonders of your own travels.