Sparkling Beauty: everything you need to know about newest High Jewellery creations from Paris

High Jewellery always goes hand in hand with Haute Couture shows in Paris: traditionally, it’s in January and July that the grand Houses of the Place Vendôme show their latest creations. Chaumet’s precious birds, Dior’s haute couture techniques, Louis Vuitton’s natural wonders and De Beers’ African safari - here is everything you need to know about the new High Jewellery collections.

BOUCHERON, THE POWER OF COUTURE

Traditionally, in January Boucheron presents a High Jewellery collection “Histoire de Style”, based on the theme from the house's opulent archives. This time, creative director Claire Choisne took her inspiration from a black and white photograph of Prince Philip greeting the public from the balcony of Buckingham Palace in his signature official uniform, decorated with medals, jewelled buttons, epaulettes, aiguillettes, collars with gold embroideries, bows and other precious frills. During the presentation of “The Power of Couture” collection, made exclusively in white gold, crystal and diamonds, at the house's flagship boutique on Place Vendôme, Choisne said that Boucheron had indeed created medals for several knights of the Legion of Honour, and the rest is the fruit of her endless imagination. Think buttons that can become hair ornaments, a tiara in the form of two delicate sprigs of ferns from royal embroideries, epaulettes that turn into a cuff bracelet, and a ceremonial bow that can be everything: a brooch, a necklace, and a hairpin.

Boucheron

LOUIS VUITTON, DEEP TIME

The second and final chapter of the “Deep Time” collection, dedicated to geology and the natural wonders that brought life to Earth, is composed of fifty pieces. Francesca Amfitheatrof, creative director of Louis Vuitton's jewellery and watches division, explains that this constant work in progress allows her studio to dive deeper in the theme, amplifying the rich tale of geological legacy and interconnectedness of life. This time, Amfitheatrof took a trip back thousands of years and presented a jewellery version of sinuous DNA helix - a massive cuff bracelet and a matching necklace in white gold and diamonds, that she called “Myriad”. Another creation of hers “Skin” is a nod to snake scales (they say that the first serpents appeared on Earth more than 128 million years ago): ultra modern and graphic, this necklace in yellow gold also recalls the Maison’s Damier's signature pattern and contains nearly 300 Umbra sapphires from Tanzania, in various shades of brown from cognac to rich chocolate. Among other masterpieces, a high-collar “Laurasia” necklace that required 2,465 hours to create. Named after one of the oldest supercontinents, it is crafted from a blend of platinum, yellow and rose gold, and is embellished with a central rare 5.02-carat emerald-cut yellow diamond.

Louis Vuitton

DIOR, DIOR DÉLICAT

This season, Victoire de Castellane, Dior Fine Jewellery's creative director, returns to her favourite motif, Haute Couture techniques and embroideries. In the new collection, which she presented in a private mansion on the Left Bank of Paris and called "Délicat", meaning "delicate" and "fragile" in French, Victoire plays with sapphires, emeralds, rubies and diamonds, creating “precious embroideries". The collection is composed of 79 pieces, most of which immediately sold out to the House's top clients. Some of the highlights include Victoire's signature asymmetrical earrings, two-finger rings, tie pins, a tiara (de Castellane says she hasn't worked with jewellery headpieces in over a decade) and a necklace with seven strings of diamonds with a six-carat pear-cut central stone.

Dior

FENDI

It is a new tradition, Fendi is showing the newest of Haute Joaillerie creations right during the Haute Couture show in Paris. This time, Delphine Delettrez-Fendi, artistic director of jewellery, focused on several cuff earrings in white gold with pear-cut diamonds, rings for two fingers, as well as precious miniature bags “Fendi Gems Baguette”, where the signature FF buckle is embellished with a diamond pavé. But the true head-turner of the collection was undoubtedly the high jewellery sunglasses “Singular Vision” in white gold with sparkling diamond pavé. Conceived with the support of LVMH's eyewear expert Thélios, these futuristic models, as if from the not-too-distant future, will be available in Fendi's private salons, where clients will be offered a bespoke made-to-order eyewear fitting experience, powered by Augmented Reality Technology. Thanks to the 3D face-scan technology, developed by Thélios, one can take precise measurements of the face to create unique made-to-measure frames. The future indeed looks bright.

Fendi

DE BEERS, FORCES OF NATURE

This winter, the British house of De Beers is launching a new High Jewellery collection dedicated to the “Forces of Nature”, namely the totem animals of Africa, where the company's main diamond mines are based. The first chapter of the collection is built around eight transformable rings with unique central diamonds. For example, the “Lion Jacket” ring sparkles with a 5.09-carat triangular warm-light diamond that can be worn with or without sculptural mane crafted in yellow gold beads and diamond pavé, that move like a fringe between the fingertips. Another standout, the “Giraffe Crown” ring is striking with its 5.78-carat round hero diamond, embraced by two V-shaped bands with chocolate diamonds, mimicking the form of giraffe spots. It’s up to you to pile them up together, spread across different fingers or wear them separately. 

De Beers

DAMIANI, PRECIOUS MASTERPIECES

This year, Damiani is celebrating its 100th anniversary. To kick off the festivities, the Italian jeweller upgraded its bestseller High Jewellery collections. For instance, the “Emozioni” collection has been completed with a showstopper set in white gold and adorned with mesmerizing twenty-carat emerald-cut aquamarines and diamonds. Drop earrings and a necklace, comprising three precious circles set with diamond pavé, have been added to the “Belle Époque” collection. Finally, the “Margherita” collection, named after the most loved Queen of Italy, has been updated with a ring and a necklace with charming daisies set with princess-cut fancy yellow diamonds.High Jewellery always goes hand in hand with Haute Couture shows in Paris: traditionally, it’s in January and July that the grand Houses of the Place Vendôme show their latest creations. Chaumet’s precious birds, Dior’s haute couture techniques, Louis Vuitton’s natural wonders and De Beers’ African safari - here is everything you need to know about the new High Jewellery collections.

Damiani

CHAUMET, UN AIR DE CHAUMET

This miniature collection of high jewellery, composed of nine delicate pieces, is an ode to graceful birds, a constant theme of inspiration for grand jewellers. Empress Josephine herself, Chaumet's most devoted and famed client, believed that all kinds of birds should frequent her gardens. The starting point? Hairpins, bandeaux and other curious precious hair ornaments from the archives of the house, created by Joseph Chaumet at the beginning of the twentieth century and by his followers in the 60s and 70s. In the “Plumes d'or” set, all eyes are on brushed gold feathers set with diamonds - when feathers are separated, the tiara turns into hairpins and brooches. In the “Ballet” set, hair ornaments and earrings cuffs take the form of poetic swallows, universal symbol of happiness; while the “Parade” set plays with the concept of magical birds of paradise in white and pink gold, adorned with diamonds. Last but not least, the “Envol” set in white gold and diamonds is composed of earcuffs and hairpins, which can also be worn as brooches by both men and women.

Chaumet

Text: LIDIA AGEEVA