A good chain necklace or bracelet isn’t exactly hard to come by, but when interpreted by the singular Pierre Hardy, creative director of Hermès jewellery, something rather magical emerges. In Chaîne d’ancre (the Anchor Chain), the French house’s latest jewellery evolution, the chain link motif takes the leading role – and it plays its part with conviction, elegance and flair.
First imagined by Robert Dumas in 1938, after he found a fascination in a ship’s anchor chain (a chain stay) during a stroll in Normandy, Chaîne d’ancre has since become an enduring icon of the house. Across the new collection, rows of nautical chain are intermingled, multiplied or isolated. Hardy works from the design down – starting with a silhouette, or the “archetypal form” as he likes to call it – then rounds, lengthens or interlaces the links. These forms are rendered in various size iterations, from micro chains to enlarged pendants, resulting in a continuous play between strength and delicacy, minimalism and ornamentation.
Throughout Chaîne d’ancre, the chain takes many unexpected forms, with each sub-collection offering a unique perspective on the interlinking motif. Chaîne d’Ancre in its most basic form takes shape in a grouping of chunky chain necklaces and bracelets, at once timeless and statement-making. Chaîne d’Ancre Calypso miniaturises the link and multiplies it, creating a fluid, feminine material studded with diamonds – soft and skin-enhancing. Danaé takes a more assertive stance, presenting column-like chains that balance rigidity and fluidity in a nod to the Greek myth of the same name.
Meanwhile Adage explores contrast and asymmetry, transforming the chain into a sculptural object, while Crescendo finds its footing in the river of diamonds that is the classic tennis bracelet, introducing the signature Hermès toggle clasp for an elegant flourish, with jewels that gradually increase in size like a symphonic crescendo. Punk, on the other hand, stretches the link into a safety pin-like silhouette across double rings and a brooch – a contemporary, rebellious twist on tradition.
Chaos and Chaos Fancy introduce rhythm and disorder, with links and diamonds dancing across the skin in unexpectedly precious compositions. Multichaînes, as the name suggests, boldly combines Chaîne d’ancre with other Hermès signature chains in a sculptural interplay of volumes. Meanwhile, Océane evokes the sea – a luminous wave of links lit with baguette-cut diamonds and shaded with black rhodium plating, mysterious and sophisticated.
The collection includes minaudières too – a pair of extraordinary bags (sacs bijoux), micro-mini in scale, lavish in detail and uncompromising in craftsmanship. A representative tells us that the house will only produce one of these per year, but here, the rarity only underscores their desirability. In 18k rose gold or silver, pavé-set with diamonds for the gold edition, these minaudières effortlessly blur the line between jewellery and object. The rose gold edition in particular required more than 1,500 hours of jewellery and setting work to complete and features 7.6k brilliant-cut white diamonds and 4.4k brilliant-cut pink sapphires, perhaps making it the crowing jewel of the collection.
Chaîne d’ancre is an impressive feat of craftsmanship, yes. But it’s also a glittering reminder that when Hardy is at the helm, a chain is never just a chain.
Photography courtesy of Hermès.
