There are the usual French suspects such as Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, as well as newcomers from abroad such as David Yurman and Tasaki. And every year they outdo themselves. But this year they really outdid themselves.
The three houses you see below - Boucheron, Louis Vuitton and Piaget - presented collections of high aesthetics that take on big themes. From the evolution of the natural world to the importance of incorporating joy into our daily lives. As always, coloured stones were an essential part of the mix.
If the jewellery presented in Paris is any indication, the 2020s will be an era of jewellery decline like we have never seen before.
More Is More by Boucheron
Boucheron's latest collection proves, once again, that creative director Claire Choisne is one of jewellery's most inventive, bold and forward-thinking thinkers.
With a desire to recapture the freedom and joy of 1980s life, Choisne, invented More Is More during the pandemic.
Now it has adopted exaggerated sizes, bright colours and simple shapes. Like spheres and cubes to bring her pop-art inspired vision to life.
The 30-piece collection incorporates unusual materials in styles not usually found in high jewellery collections. Such as a decorative hair ornament made of organic acetate and magnesium. As flexible as a ribbon, the diamond piece featuring a color pattern. Described in the collection notes as “Coca-Cola red, white and black”; it also functions as a brooch.
In the same spirit, This Is Not a Scrunchie is a luxurious hair jewel with a sphere filled with swirls of vibrant green chaboritis. It is set next to a cube whose black anodized titanium frames contain a square of carved mother-of-pearl. All mounted on a strip of black lacquer. The jewelry transforms into a bracelet.
In a collection that features a stunning use of colour and materials, perhaps the most stunning piece is a set of hoodies that can be worn as earrings. Crafted from blue lacquered aluminium with diamonds, titanium, white gold and citrine cones in yellow gold, the design also features a subtle mix of onyx and cogolong marquetry.
Finally, the Solve Me necklace shown at the top is an artful and deconstructive version of Rubik's Cube. Each surface is covered in a different colour, be it diamonds, pavé grey spinel or mother-of-pearl. It perfectly captures Choisne's motto: “Always precious, never predictable”.
Deep Time by Louis Vuitton.
Deep Time, is Francesca Amfitheatrof's fifth high jewellery collection for Louis Vuitton. The brand's artistic director of watches and jewellery goes back-to-back to the geological creation of precious materials. The materials that are the building blocks of her overtly bold vision.
“At Louis Vuitton we are as adventurers as ever, travelling to extraordinary, unexpected places,” said Amfitheatrof.
“Deep Time will take you deep into the past. To a time and place that is so distant and perhaps even difficult to understand. But at the same time, the stones-those treasures that span millennia-will take you right there. To the beginning of the planet and to a history of the world and its mystical geological heritage.”.
It includes more than 170 unique pieces, including 95 in the first chapter alone. The collection uses striking colored stones to evoke geological concepts. Such as no-oil emeralds from Colombia for the Gondwana Peninsula and juicy Mandarin garnets for a volcanic eruption. In the confident hands of Amfitheatrof, the story of the collection begins with the geological formation of the earth. Before moving on to a second act, widely described as “life”.
The themes that inspire the second act - origins, fossils, plants, seeds and flowers - are rooted in nature. Not unlike many of this year's, and every year's, high jewelry collections. Emeralds and rubies interspersed among LV Monogram-cut diamonds bring to mind the glistening berries of a tree. While a striking Seeds necklace with 256-carat cabochons of rubellite and garnet spessartite tells the story of evolution.
As Louis Vuitton's largest high jewellery collection to date, Deep Time is a sure sign that the fashion house is committed (deeply!) to the jewellery category.
Metaphoria by Piaget.
Piaget's fantastic new Metaphoria collection celebrates natural phenomena. Like the flow of a waterfall or the rays of the sun, in 41 pieces of jewellery and 11 watches. With gemstones that capture the original and ever-changing state of nature.
“The materials we use, from insect elytra, to precious wood, have been chosen to give an unpredictable, vibrant element to a piece of 21st century high jewellery.” Creative director Stéphanie Sivrière explained to us in a company “manifesto”.
It is inspired by the wild beauty of the company's homeland in La Côte aux Fées, Switzerland. Not to mention its spiritual home on the Mediterranean beach of the Côte d'Azur. The collection is filled with secret gemstone watches. Even stunning, frosted necklaces dripping with sapphires, aquamarines and pearls. But also unique earrings that convey the look of a rushing mountain stream.
Source: www.jckonline.com
