As tradition dictates, we’re rounding up the best in class of this season’s high jewellery collections. Unveiled during last week’s Paris haute couture shows, the offerings saw us bare witness not just to the boundary-breaking jewellery-making techniques of the following fine institutions, but to a resplendent celebration of Mother Nature and unfettered artistry. From Dior’s floral fantasies to Chaumet’s Bamboo-inspired bijouterie, this is adornment at its absolute finest. Emily Phillips
Chaumet
Dubbed Bamboo, Chaumet’s newest high jewellery collection is an exceptionally elegant ode to the nature of Asia. Focussed, of course, on the pure beauty of the bamboo plant, 10 intricate high jewellery pieces mimic its segmented structure. One ring, for example, is topped with a 7.24-carat cushion-cut tsavorite garnet while another revisits the toi et moi motif in an unexpected way. Elsewhere a brooch can be transformed into a hair ornament; another is made up of two separate elements which are meant to be worn as a pair and another boasts expressly flexible diamond bands. From setting to stone, each creation effortlessly echoes Empress Joséphine’s passion for botany, who has inspired Chaumet collections for over two centuries. EP
Boucheron
Aptly named Untamed Nature, Boucheron’s latest high jewellery range found its point of departure in the house’s founder, Frédéric Boucheron. A jeweller of Place Vendôme, Mr Boucheron found himself fascinated by all things nature – its bold liveliness, its utterly untamed sensibility – imbuing Boucheron’s archives passels with ivy, thistles, ferns, flies and bumblebees. Now, under the creative direction of Claire Choisne comes a fresh, foliage-thronged collection that blurs the lines between the body and its surrounding ecosystem by sprawling out over the skin like ivy.
Designed to be worn in a multitude of unconventional ways, the 28 new diamond paved creations take shape as modular necklaces, rings, brooches, head jewels and earrings. A necklace features detachable stems that can be reattached to a brooch; a hair jewel can also be worn as a brooch; a pair of earrings can be worn three ways – short, mid or full-length. Sculpted in white gold and black lacquer with white diamonds, rock crystals and mother of pearl, each piece takes up to 2,300 hours of work to create. These are true examples of high jewellery mastery. EP
Graff
Graff is flying to new heights with this recent high-jewellery unveiling entitled The Gift of Love. An exquisite masterpiece that took three years to create, the necklace, composed of a jaw-flooring 2,305 diamonds, is a remarkable example of the British jeweller’s expertise and craftsmanship. The name of the piece reflects the tender moment between two delicate sparrows, whose flight path, paved by white baguette and round diamonds set in white and yellow gold, curves to create the main silhouette of the necklace. As a focal point, the house selected a 13.51-carat Fancy Intense Yellow pear-shaped diamond, held by one of the sparrows as the other delicately reaches for it, its outstretched diamond wings floating behind it. No detail is spared, with the birds adorned with blue sapphire for eyes and jet-black onyx for beaks. With the ancient connection of sparrows to the Greek goddess Aphrodite, this piece is a mythological ode to beauty and romance in theme, and a technical masterclass in execution. Bella Koopman
Cartier
For Cartier, nature has always been an enduring, ever-flowing source of inspiration. The creatures that roam alongside us, pulsing with vitality, are the basis for the maison’s newest high jewellery release. The third instalment of its Nature Sauvage collection, the offering incorporates illusionary elements of Trompe-l’œil, adopting the vitality represented by the fauna that inspires it. Pieces oscillate between more abstract adaptations, like the Echina, which features geometric sea urchin shells crafted from ribbed emerald beads, to more direct relations, like the Ispida Ring, where a yellow gold Kingfisher with sapphire plumage wraps around a 15.21-carat cushion-cut tourmaline. Other standouts include the Panthère Versatiles, where one of the house’s most recognisable icons takes form in a cord of onyx and diamonds, meeting a 10.10-carat Zambian emerald in the middle – the same gem that makes up its piercing green eyes. It’s the perfect balance of expressive and exquisite. BK
Dior
Sprawling as if with the delicate intricacies of Guipure lace, the Dior Milly Dentelle collection reinterprets the fine features of couture embroidery in high jewellery form. Imagined by artistic director of jewellery Victoire de Castellane who takes her inspiration from Christian Dior’s dominion in Milly-la-Forêt, necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings evoke a lovely landscape peppered with a profusion of flora and foliage. With lightweight goldwork frames crafted in white, yellow and pink gold and each piece is meticulously set with diamonds, rubies, tourmalines and sapphires in kaleidoscopic colours, that alternate with shimmering pearls. Milly-la-Forêt is reflected across seventy-six exceptional high jewellery pieces, the crown jewels of which are the necklaces – masterpieces of diamond-set gold lace that drape around the neck with the fluidity of fabric. It’s a bewitching fusion of haute couture savoir-faire and high jewellery artistry for an ethereal offering that’s sure to enchant any discerning collector. EP
De Beers
Inspired by the “majesty of trees”, De Beers latest high jewellery offering, Essence of Nature, taps into the Earth’s most precious diamonds to create a breathtaking tribute to natural beauty. This appreciation for nature comes from the house’s position as the only atelier with an immediate connection to the source of its diamonds, ensuring an unparalleled comprehension of their rarity and organic character. Looking to trees as a symbol of unwavering strength and support, the collection unfurls across three sets: Embrace, Interlace and Foundation. Embrace looks to the abstract passels of roots that bloom beneath the earth, setting rare rough green diamonds against polished white diamonds and the smooth grain of jet (marking the first time the brand has used the fossilised wood material in its 136 year history). Interlace, on the other hand, intertwines diamond-set curves with a mix of rough and polished yellow diamonds to create an ear cuff, mismatching ear climber and convertible earrings which transform from classic studs into glamorous drops. At the heart of the offering is a necklace, bracelet and two ring set that features a remarkably rare 8.75-carat Fancy Intense Yellow diamond from the De Beers Natural Works of Art collection. Finally, Foundation celebrates the strength and dignity of trees across a lavish two-row diamond necklace – that cascades elegantly towards a unique Fancy Deep Greyish Green diamond whose rich hue calls to mind lush vegetation – simple tree trunk-inspired earrings and a convertible, rare, green diamond ring that can be worn with or without its white diamond jacket. EP
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton has started to pen the second chapter of its revered high jewellery collection entitled Awakened Hands, Awakened Minds, resuming the journey through 19th-century France. Intended to explore the developments in craft and science experienced at the time, the offering is divided into seven themes, amounting to 50 breathtaking pieces. Under the helm of the house’s artistic director for watches and jewellery, Francesca Amfitheatrof, the themes – Splendeur, Phénoménal, Élégance, Gravité, Dynamisme, Vision and Victoire – each interprets the house’s classic codes in a spectacular fashion. 8,69 carat Rubies from Mozambique, 22 carat Star cut Diamonds and 4,55-carat Tsavorites, to name a few, have all been used to craft the most exquisite ode to LV’s most recognisable codes. A body of work that could be hailed as one of Amfitheatrof’s best, this new high jewellery arrival is warmly welcomed by fans of exceptional skill and flawless gems. BK
Piaget
The Essence of Extraleganza is the name selected by Swiss watchmaker and jeweller Piaget for its latest high jewellery release. Intended to fuse elegance and extravagance for the maison’s 150th anniversary, the collection is bold, bright and embraces an avant-garde, unapologetic spirit. Rooting itself in an exciting exploration of colour, pieces include a titanium scarf necklace comprised of 1,500 stones, ranging from sapphires to tourmalines, and a wondrous cuff bracelet crafted in gold adorned with pink sapphire and spessartite garnets. Harnessing the daring spirit of the unbridled creativity it has wielded since its inception in 1874, the collection perfectly denotes the savoir-faire Piaget has become renowned for. BK
Top image: photography courtesy of Louis Vuitton.