To celebrate the launch of the exuberant fine jewelry collection by Boucheron, Rubel & Ménasché has decided to look back over the latest collections and designs of the jewelry and fine jewelry maisons. Dior, Piaget and Chanel have all enchanted us! A quick tour of the designs and collections which have given pride of place to diamonds.
The New Maharajahs collection by Boucheron, the magnificence of gems and jewelry art
With its New Maharajahs fine jewelry collection, in which innovation blends with androgyny and magnificence, Boucheron is on a roll after its three previous collections. First, at the end of January 2021 came ‘History of Style, Art Deco,’ which was inspired by the Maison’s archives, then in the summer of 2021, Holographic, , which hoped to capture the essence of light, and ‘Contemplation’, in the summer of 2020, which focused on celebrating the present moment. Now, Boucheron is tackling another favorite source of inspiration (and favorite customers!) of the great jewelry Maisons: the Maharajahs.
Claire Choisne, Artistic Director has always had Carte Blanche when it comes to letting her creativity fly. And she has once again returned to delve into the Maison’s historical archives, those of 1928, to be more specific, when Boucheron produced “the biggest special order in the history of place Vendôme,” for the Maharajah of Patiala, who was passionate about jewelry, on the occasion of his visit to Paris. In the Maharajah’s safes were diamonds, rubies, emeralds and pearls which inspired Louis Boucheron’s 149 designs. An incredible story and order which Claire Choisne develops and reinvents to create a dialogue with the modernity of our contemporary period.
All dressed in white and green, the pieces of jewelry are impressive: diamonds, emeralds, mother of pearl and rock crystal are placed on turban ornaments, ‘Sarpech’ which transform into hair jewels or brooches, ‘Churiyan’ wedding bracelets, rings sculpted using the glyptics technique, ear jewels evoking the lotus flower or ‘padma,’ not to mention the incredible New Maharani monochrome choker necklace, that looks like a lace collar!
The fine jewelry techniques and art are transcended, such that almost all the pieces can be transformed and although imposing, remain amazingly elegant.
Rose Dior Couture by Dior, a barely-open bud
Christian Dior’s love of roses is well known – and on this subject, if you have never been to Granville, on the Normandy coast, make a beeline to his eponymous museum in the family home, and wander through the superb flower gardens and rose garden overlooking the English Channel, it’s well worth the visit -, but Victoire de Castellane has picked up the subject to give us a barely-open bud.
With Rose Dior Couture, rose gold and diamonds transcend the rosebud, which adorns fine jewelry pieces for everyday wear: earrings, a ring and a necklace simply depict a bud as it starts to blossom, set with a central diamond or studded with stones throughout the corolla. The design is simple and fits with the other designs in the La Rose Dior collection– Bois de Rose, Rose Dior Bagatelle and Rose Dior Pré Catelan – so that they can be all worn together which is very in vogue at the moment. A fresh, poetic collection, so easy to wear. Dior… J’adore!
Golden Oasis and Extraordinary Lights by Piaget, odes to sun and light
Light and sun have been the focus at Piaget for several years now. Perhaps you remember Sunlight Escape in 2018 which evoked the many aspects of sunlight depending on the time of day and the different latitudes of the Globe.
The three variations of the Golden Oasis fine jewelry collection – Play Of Lights, Desert Minerals and Native Bloom – bathe the natural wonders of the desert with sunlight, over which the rays play hide and seek. The sparkling white of the diamonds reveals the yellow diamonds and rubies evoking a sunset or sunrise, the blues and greens of the sapphires and emeralds tell of the luxuriant flora of the oasis or the water that is revealed.
Extraordinary Lights is also about light, again in three variations – Festive lights, Magical lights and Infinite Lights – the light that illuminates a festive evening and sparkling jewelry. Dusk, starry skies and northern lights all provide inspiration for mixing white and yellow diamonds, sapphires and rubies.
And because nothing beats seeing jewelry worn on the silver screen, the film ‘The 355’, which has a star-studded Hollywood and cosmopolitan cast, features Piaget jewelry worn by the Maison’s muse, Jessica Chastain, as well as her fellow stars Diane Kruger, Penélope Cruz, Lupita Nyong’o and Fan Binbing.
Chanel, tribute collection to Number 5 and its 55.55 necklace
We could not leave out Chanel’s Number 5 collection, presented this autumn, which celebrates the centenary of the famous perfume, created in 1921. And an entire collection is therefore dedicated to the perfume, the symbol of the Maison and its creator.
The 55.55 necklace, which represents the bottle of the iconic perfume, is composed of more than 700 white diamonds; the exceptional diamond at its center, a D-color flawless emerald cut, tailor-cut by the hands of a master, reveals the perfect proportions of its 55.55 carats. This work will of course go down in history and enter into Chanel’s heritage.
Chanel ‘s COCO CRUSH jewelry collection has also just launched new pieces for everyday wear, such as creoles, a ring and the graphic and symbolic ‘C’ quilted necklace in beige, yellow or white gold set with a diamond.
The Alchemist of Light by De Beers Jewelers celebrates light
Finally, the fine jewelry collection, The Alchemist of Light, from De Beers Jewellers has just been presented in Paris. What better way to give thanks to the fire of diamonds than with light? The first two sets of jewelry, Light Rays and Atomique, elevate both the gemstone and the sun’s rays or the elemental magic of light, in contemporary and geometric designs, showcasing the De Beers group’s exceptional diamonds and its expertise in this area.
Source Rubel & Ménasché
Photos © Boucheron, Dior, Piaget, Chanel, De Beers Jewellers.
