Material world
Buccellati, the Milanese jewellery house, is renowned for its intricate goldsmithing techniques, which are used to create delicate fabric-like forms evoking tulle or silk, from engraved metal. These were updated for the house’s latest high jewellery collection. We’ve got the soft touch for this swirling honeycomb effect bracelet, designed using a Renaissance openwork technique. In a striking combination, the bracelet is crafted from vivid yellow gold, set with diamonds. Brighter still are the house’s sunset-like cocktail earrings, an example of its current experimentation with vivid tones. Its vibrant yellow diamonds and rubies are contrasted against rows of white diamonds, evoking rays of bright light and shadow.
Eastern promise
In May, Anna Hu became the first modern high jewellery brand to host a solo exhibition at Christie’s in London. The exhibition, featuring pieces hand-selected by David Warren, Senior International Jewellery Director at the auction house, nodded to the New York-based Taiwanese designer’s naturalism, whimsy and celebration of colour - the signatures of a brand which turns ten this year. Much to our delight, the pieces travelled to Paris during couture week, and were showcased at the Ritz. They nod to a variety of references, from the Impressionist aesthetic of Van Gogh and Monet, to spirituality and the natural world. We were struck by Hu’s ‘Myth of Orchid’ earrings, their gently curving titanium petals encrusted with round brilliant cut diamonds. Striking too was her Eastern inspired ‘Snake Ying Yang Bangle’ featuring two curving serpents encrusted with rubies, diamonds and sapphires, and clutching the symbol of harmony and balance in their jaws. Animals are often encountered in the collection, Hu nodding to birds, butterflies and dragonflies in the prismatic pieces, which will travel to Asia at the end of the year.
Cold snap
Boucheron’s latest high jewellery collection ’Hiver Impérial’ took inspiration from the snow covered plains of the Far East. It’s a territory which is close to the house’s heart- when Boucheron opened its first Moscow boutique in 1897, it was the first French jeweller in the city. ‘Lumière de Nuit’ celebrates the brilliant polar landscape of the region, ‘Femmes Boréales’ its pearl clad queens and ‘L’Anneau d’Or’ offers a panoramic sweep of the splendid architecture of Russia’s ancient and regal towns. A nod to traditional dress, the ’Baïkal’ bodice from the house’s ‘Femmes Boréales’ offering has us craving for a cold snap. Its front is finished with more that 2000 Akoya pearls, and its many strands, strung on silk thread, are connected with aquamarines, moonstones and diamond slivers. At its centre, a 78.33 ct Santa Maria aquamarine evokes the clear and icy waters of untarnished polar plains.
Finely tuned
2 August
Chaumet looked to four renowned musical venues as inspiration behind its latest high jewellery collection: Glyndebourne in East Sussex, England, La Scala in Milan, New York’s Metropolitan Opera and the Vienna Opera. In the ‘Pastorale Anglaise’ collection, sparkling emeralds evoked the verdant open air setting of the British opera venue, which began hosting an annual performance in 1934. A necklace with a Scottish bow knot nodded both to the signature bow motif of the Parisian house and the British legacy of the location. The piece was inspired by a 1907 archive tartan pattern, and features a detachable 29 ct Muzo emerald pendant. A softer pastel palette was seen in the pieces of the Metropolitan inspired ‘Rhapsodie Transatlantique’ collection. A pair of flame-shaped earrings with asymmetric coloured stones and umba garnets evoked the trailing embers of fireworks and the hues of an Indian Summer in Manhattan. Throughout, diamonds were set with a champagne setting, to highlight the spontaneous and effervescent atmosphere of an Upper West Side evening out at the opera.
Leap frog
New York-based designer David Yurman’s latest high jewellery collection, presented at the Ritz during Paris couture week, acted as an evolution and enhancement of his aesthetic tropes. The ‘Stax’ collection featured a combination of thin or pavé set chains, a design Yurman has worked with since his work as a sculptor in the sixties, his signature cable twists, and newly developed bands of faceted metal. These different strands were layered together as hoop earrings, multi banded bracelets and necklaces. Yurman’s ‘Gems’ collection featured sparkling peridots and tassels of beaded red spinels, while his ‘Pearls’ offering celebrated his use of the stone since the eighties. We made a real leap for his ‘Night Petals’ pieces. Inspired by the frogs that used to sing in the pond of his garden in New York’s Putnam Valley, this necklace and bracelet are constructed from abstract lily pad shapes. His ‘Night Petals Necklace’ is crafted from black rhodium plated white gold, and is a nod to the nighttime singsongs of Yurman’s amphibious neighbours. Set with diamonds, each water lily shape glitters just like stars in the night sky.
Putting down roots
Victoire de Castellane returned to the ostentatious Château de Versailles for the inspiration for her latest high jewellery collection for Dior Joaillerie. She looked not to its ornamental interiors (a previous influence), but its verdant surrounding jardins. Its 800 hectares were landscaped by André Le Nôtre, in the architectural French Garden style, and in the ‘Versailles, act II’ collection, Castellane celebrated the dichotomy between the garden’s geometric layout and bright abundant blooms. In a presentation space cascading with roses, intricate pieces were displayed. Trailing blooms, wanton undergrowth, fountains and sandy walkways were recreated with ornamental coloured jewels. Plumes of water were imagined using sapphires, sculpted amazonite and opal. A pair of non identical earrings, glittering with emeralds, sapphires and jewelled roses recalled the garden’s Bosquet de la Reine, while necklaces, watches, rings and bracelets were designed to trail wildly around the body.
