Chanel marks No.5 centenary with dazzling high jewellery collection
New Chanel high jewellery nods to the design codes of Coco Chanel’s original 1932 collection, and celebrates Chanel No.5
Chanel continues to mark the centenary of its No.5 perfume in style, most recently with the unveiling of an expansive high jewellery series, titled ‘No.5’ collection. Facets of Chanel No.5 perfume – such as the stopper, the flowers, the sillage, and the number five – are celebrated in more than 100 high jewellery pieces that form the collection. References to the fragrance are intertwined with the hallmarks of Chanel high jewellery; the sensuality that perfume and jewellery share from their proximity to a woman’s skin is reflected in droplets of juxtaposed diamond cuts. In the asymmetric ‘No.5’ drop earrings, it is the number itself that takes centre stage, its elongated curves drawn in diamond-studded white gold, from which swings a pear-cut diamond.
For director of the Chanel Fine Jewellery Creation Studio, Patrice Leguéreau, the ‘No.5’ collection is a natural continuation of both the graphic codes of Coco Chanel’s perfume and of her 1932 high jewellery series, called ‘Bijoux de Diamants’. Like the fragrance and jewellery that precedes it, the new collection brings the intangible to life with graphic design codes and a playful wearability, interpreting olfactory pleasures in diamonds and enveloping the body like a cloud of perfume.
Setting the tone for Chanel high jewellery to come
The new pieces nod to the original collection, which interpreted five themes (five being Coco Chanel’s favourite number): fringe, ribbon, feathers, the sun, and the stars into transformable high jewellery. Nodding to her childhood, the collection was very personal, with the patterned mosaics on the floor of the Abbey of Aubazine orphanage where she spent her childhood drawn in dazzling diamonds.
Other pieces, such as a diamond necklace as fluid as a ribbon, and a shooting star studded in diamonds that encircles the finger on its journey, juxtapose geometric cuts and supple curves, setting the tone for the high jewellery to follow over the next century.
INFORMATION
This article appears in the September 2021 issue of Wallpaper* (W*269), now on newsstands and available for free download
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Hannah Silver is the Art, Culture, Watches & Jewellery Editor of Wallpaper*. Since joining in 2019, she has overseen offbeat design trends and in-depth profiles, and written extensively across the worlds of culture and luxury. She enjoys meeting artists and designers, viewing exhibitions and conducting interviews on her frequent travels.
-
Remembering Christopher Charles Benninger (1942-2024)
Architect Christopher Charles Benninger has died in Pune, India, at the age of 82; we honour and reflect on his passing
By Aastha D Published
-
Chanel shows its sporting colours with a bold high jewellery collection
Chanel's high jewellery collection is inspired by its founder’s athletic aesthetic
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Sarah Solis’ first furniture collection is an homage to art deco
‘Is it weird to call furniture sexy?’ Los Angeles-based designer Sarah Solis discusses her debut furniture line and new brand and store, Galerie Solis
By Dan Howarth Published
-
Chanel shows its sporting colours with a bold high jewellery collection
Chanel's high jewellery collection is inspired by its founder’s athletic aesthetic
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Wild beauties: high jewellery dripping with drama
The latest high jewellery collections are fantastic and flamboyant, drawing on a wealth of influences, from a Chopin composition and César Ritz to crocodiles and colour refraction
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Boghossian looks to the palaces of the world for a regal high jewellery collection
Boghossian's new Palace Voyages collection is inspired by royal architecture
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Chaumet, Cartier and Chanel up their high jewellery watch game for 2024
In 2024's high jewellery watch designs, performance tech and centuries-old techniques combine to brilliant effect
By Caragh McKay Published
-
Skeletonised watches are making a dazzling return in 2024
Skeletonised watches return, once again opening up their dials, letting us enjoy mechanical watchmaking at its intricate finest
By Thor Svaboe Published
-
Dark watches show it’s time to embrace an inky palette
Discover new dark watches from brands including Audemars Piguet, Omega, Chanel and Tudor
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Year in review: top 10 watch and jewellery stories of 2023, as picked by Wallpaper’s Hannah Silver
Silver’s top 10 watch and jewellery stories of 2023 span cool horological collaborations, sculptural forms, and cutlery as bracelets
By Hannah Silver Published
-
The odd couple: Chanel and Pomellato play with asymmetry in jewellery
Two jewellery houses, Chanel and Pomellato, take a new turn, toying with asymmetry to create organically opulent pieces
By Caragh McKay Published