Transcript
|Maria Doulton: It's always a tough call making a shortlist of those jewels that stood out at Baselworld 2014, but here is my list of what I thought was exceptional this year.
First up is Boucheron's Serpent Bohème, which is in fact a bit of a classic for the house, because it was first introduced in 1968, but I like its interpretation in this bracelet, with this incredible amount of diamonds so beautifully set that they just seem to sparkle and move.
At Yoko London I was very impressed with these purple pearls. Now, it's rare enough to see a pearl this colour, but to see this many, and even graduated on this necklace, is quite exceptional. Just look at the intensity of colour on that ring; it is really outstanding. I think that coloured pearls are going to be a big trend going forwards.
Wendy Yue is known for her fantastical, colourful designs that explode with imagination, and I like what she's done this year with this cuff bracelet, because the base of it is black opal, which is quite rare, because opal is not usually used in bracelets. She's layered on top all these tendrils and vines and leaves that bring to mind a mysterious dark forest, with beautiful matching earrings. Here we have tsavorites, sapphires and also rubies.
Chopard loves animals, and they are a big theme this year, but I love this one in particular because it's a snail. Now, I'm challenged to find other snail jewellery at Baselworld this year, so for that reason, this stands out.
I love the brave combinations of colour on this Fabergé Rocaille bracelet. It's just so interesting to see this intensity of colour all coming together in this delightfully clashing yet beautiful bracelet.
There are lots of diamonds at Baselworld, but I like what Messika does with diamonds, because they make them really wearable, and this necklace quite literally drapes on the skin like silk.
The problem with Basel is that there are so many jewels and so little time.
