Brand Heritage Remains the Top Source of Inspiration for the World's Best Jewelry Houses
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Every January, the haute couture shows and high jewelry presentations take place in Paris, providing a much-needed jolt of inspiration, freshness, and beauty. One-of-a-kind gowns that take hours upon hours to come to life cascade down the various runways, while the jewelry maisons employ their most talented and artistic to create the intricate high jewelry collections that tell the amazing stories of each house. Whether drawing upon their own histories or pushing the house forward with a new concept, below are the collections from this showing that we can't stop thinking about.
Cindy Chao
Returning in Paris, Cindy Chao, the designer known for her naturalistic designs and exceptional combinations of stones, presented, among others, the Feather Brooch—the newest addition to her 15th Anniversary collection. This beautiful homage to the world around us was created with a very light and thin titanium setting that allows the stones to appear as though they are floating above the setting. A total of 39 cushion-cut diamonds (from 0.5 carats to 2.8 carats) and around 1,700 white diamonds, yellow diamonds, rubies, purple garnets, orange sapphires, rhodolite, and color-change sapphires surround the larger diamonds, creating truly a mesmerizing work of art.
Louis Vuitton
Taking its inspiration from the founder Louis Vuitton's most iconic legacy—the trunk and its design—comes the second chapter of the maison's Bravery high jewelry collection. Most of the pieces in this collection feature a rainbow of colors in the gemstones selected, like in the Le Magnétisme necklace, set with an intense 20.29 carat Sri Lankan yellow sapphire and two rows of yellow, pink, and orange tourmalines. But here—the only monochromatic moment—La Mini Malle takes its cue from the Petite Malle, which debuted in 2014. This miniature version of the original creation features diamond pavé links and three LV monogram star-cut diamonds, which are reminiscent of the locks on the famous Louis Vuitton trunk.
Boucheron
On August 2, 1928, Bhupindar Sing, the Maharajah of Patiala, arrived in Paris with his guards carrying his safes of thousands of rubies, emeralds, pearls, and diamonds to be made into parures. No one knew which jeweler on the Place Vendôme would be tasked with creating his personal jewelry, but he chose the house of Boucheron. Louis Boucheron, the son of Frédéric Boucheron, created 149 designs for the Maharajah, and this January, Claire Choisne, the Creative Director, went into the archives to be inspired by Louis Boucheron's original drawings. Springing forth from that comes this New Maharajahs collection, this time without color. Choisne modernized it by focusing on white and transparent gemstones, like in this New Maharani Nacre necklace that is centered with a mother-of-pearl lotus flower dripping with Japanese pearls and diamonds.
De Beers
De Beers debuted the first chapter of its new high jewelry collection, The Alchemist of Light, during the Paris presentations. This first reveal includes seven sets of jewelry with 45 one-of-a-kind pieces, with the second chapter scheduled for the July high jewelry presentations in Paris. One stand-out piece among many was the Atomique collar necklace above - a setting that is a work of total precision was created to show off the stunning 18.57 carat flawless diamond that is the centerpiece. The necklace boasts a total of 1,907 round brilliant diamonds, capturing and reflecting light in a dreamlike way.
Cartier
Cartier presented the third chapter in their Sixième Sens collection, which celebrates the effect that high jewelry creations have on our senses - how they are inspired and awakened, and the effect that these works of art have on our emotions and the attachments they beget. Some believe that jewelry comes to life when worn, and here, through the use of trompe-l’œil and modern patterns, Cartier's new pieces engage the viewer's sense of sight. In these Kaniza earrings that took 314 hours to create and use one of the brand's signature color combinations of black, green, and white, hexagonal diamonds totaling 5.22 carats highlight the idea of transparency and are grounded by onyx and dangling delicate emeralds.
Dior
A new collection that encompasses 81 pieces and celebrates the galons, or beautiful decorative ribbons, that adorn the designs of the maison was created by Victoire de Castellane for Dior's latest high jewelry collection, Galons Dior. Castellane sought to evoke the refined spirit and delicate curves of the couture trimmings that Christian Dior was known for. Jewelry pieces that have a more lyrical shape to them - and set with an array of colorful stones, like emeralds, sapphires, and rubies cut into geometric shapes - and a quality of femininity and lightness mimic the shape of fabric floating through the air as it is wrapped around a mannequin. Castellane has also included, for the first time in a high jewelry collection for the brand, cufflinks and brooches created especially for men.
Chopard
Named after the Bemba word for 'elephant', the Insofu rough emerald - an astonishing discovery totaling at 6,225 carats - was presented by Chopard in Paris. This rare stone that was found in the Kagem mine in Zambia is exceptional not only for its weight, but also for its quality. While not yet realized into many pieces of jewelry - like no doubt it will be - this stone shimmers with the possibilities, and Caroline Scheufele, co-President and Artistic Director of Chopard, plans to be present each step of the way as this magnificent find is cut and honed into future designs. Chopard also presented several finished pieces in Paris, including a 10.88 carat 'Rose of Caroline' diamond set as a ring with rubies flanking it on either side.
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