Jewellery highlights from Paris Couture week
Paris Couture week saw the biggest
names in fashion and jewellery descend on the romantic capital of
the world to get a look at what has been the largest jewellery
preview for the Biennale des Antiquaires yet. Whether or not the
pieces we feasted our eyes on were to be shown this September at
the Grand Palais, it became clear almost immediately that jewellery
lovers were in for a treat. With Chanel, Cartier, Boucheron, De Beers, Dior, Chaumet, Louis Vuitton, Van
Cleef & Arpels, Harry Winston and more showing pieces straight
from the atelier, here are just a handful of the wonders that made
an appearance.
From Louis Vuitton to Boucheron,
one of the recurring motifs of this year's preview was jewellery
that could be broken down into smaller pieces to be worn either
separately or as a set. Boucheron unveiled their Perle au Trésor
diamond, pearl, and opal and mother-of-pearl 'object', which opened
to reveal a pearl necklace, two brooches and a bracelet. Boucheron's
pieces saw a wide variety of styles and colours, be it their rough
and faceted diamond necklace from the Lierre de Paris collection,
or the classic serpent now in opalescent form as a diamond, opal
and rock crystal necklace.
De Beers showed an exciting collection that
although not appearing at the Biennale des Antiquaires was
certainly worth the trip, proving to be one of the highlights of
the entire week. Again, it saw a piece that could be transformed
into two with an ornate necklace able to break down into an
exquisite brooch and simpler necklace. Part of their Imaginary
Nature collection, the idea is to capture movement and light with
bold curves and scintillating diamond settings, as De Beers
themselves say of the collection, "Take flight for a journey of
light with Imaginary Nature".
Now it's back to Place Vendôme to
wander through the tiara decorated walls of Chaumet and
their number 12 salon; for the XXVIth Biennale des Antiquaires they
have gone back to the spirit that founded the salon in 1780 with
the aigrette that can be worn as a classic Chaumet tiara whilst
sporting a formidable array of feathers, or either as a brooch or
necklace. As with other pieces in the 12 Vendôme collection, it has
been inspired by none other than Empress Joséphine herself, the
first muse the House of Chaumet ever had. Chanel also
reached back into their past, taking their cue from a 1932 Chanel
collection that looked upwards for celestial inspiration, resulting
in a fabulously focused collection featuring comets and stars, and
of course a Lion, for Coco herself was a Leo. Piaget on the other
hand have taken a different approach to their Biennale ambitions,
looking to make jewellery that plays with the idea of seduction,
going on to create their largest ever high jewellery
collection.
Finally though, and perhaps most
breathtakingly, were the jewellery pieces presented by Dior as
their Dear Dior collection. Designed by Victoire de Castellane,
these colourful joys are intended as a letter to Monsieur Dior
himself, one steeped in admiration that seeks to create a jewellery
collection with the ambitions of old and the unique eye of
Castellane herself. We saw a vibrant mix of colours and stones, the
cuts, carats and settings all chosen carefully to bring each
creation to fiery life. Victoire de Castellane aimed to make a
collection that would embrace and be embraced by women, "I make
jewels that are their friends; that protect them. Women can hand
them down to their daughters which makes them eternal."
What's so exhilarating about seeing
jewellery like this is knowing that this is only a taste of what is
to come in September, when we'll get to see even more astonishing
sights at the XXVIth Biennale des Antiquaires, which runs from
14th to 23rd September.
