You could read all 368 pages of the brilliant biography of Gabrielle Chanel by Justine Picardie to understand the mercurial genius of Mademoiselle Gabrielle. Or you could take a look at the jewellery she designed in her lifetime and innately understand her visionary and groundbreaking approach.
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As with her couture, she eschewed the pedestrian approach of putting her dress ideas onto paper, but shears in hand - and likely a cigarette clamped in the corner of her mouth - cut them directly from the fabric. And so, with the jewellery she designed mainly for herself, she elegantly turned convention on its head and invented freely, borrowed, mashed up styles, played havoc with volumes. Mixing high and low, pairing talismanic symbols with charming bijoux, the ancient rubbing shoulders with the new. Ever enigmatic she claimed that: ‘My jewellery represents an idea,’ freeing herself from explanations, expectations and conventions.
The 2026 Signes & Symbols High Jewellery Collection taps into this spirit in two ways. It focusses on the signs and symbols the couturier was drawn to: the star, comet, camelia and her astrological guardian the lion and then interprets them with the same freedom as Coco herself.
Across the collection, Gabrielle Chanel's most enduring symbols find new expression in high jewellery with liberal use of hard stones, exotic diamond cuts, stone carving and an exuberance and joie de vivre that brings fresh life into the most precious jewels very much in the style of Mademoiselle Chanel.
Symboles
The Symbole Camélia rose brooch (above) renders Chanel's signature flower in white gold and rose gold decorated with diamonds, rock crystal and enamel, its heart a round brilliant cut diamond of 1.58 carats, E colour and VVS2. The brooch can also be worn as a pendant on a chain.
The Symbole Étoile necklace (above) gathers white gold and diamonds around a play of warm colour, with tanzanite beads, Imperial topaz, spessartite garnets and carnelian. A cushion cut Imperial topaz of 26.21 carats sits at the centre, set between two round spessartite garnets of 2.31 and 2.24 carats. The necklace can be worn long or short version, and the detached sections become bracelets.
The striking Symbole Emblématique ring (above) brings together an interesting mix of hard stones with sapphires and diamonds. It is made in yellow gold, white gold and platinum with diamonds, sapphires, turquoise and carnelian, crowned by a cushion cut diamond of 5.05 carats, D colour and internally flawless, of the rare Type IIA. The piece separates into two distinct rings.
Joyful and youthful, the Symbole Ombré earrings feature stars made from white gold and diamonds and cascade of spessartite garnets and turquoise beads.
Talismans
The Talisman jewels with a dramatic black and white palette, keep to a spare, graphic language of white gold, diamonds and onyx, spectacularly expressed in the Talisman Graphique necklace (above) in white gold, diamonds and onyx, centred on an oval cut diamond of 3.05 carats, D colour and flawless.
Lions
The lion, Gabrielle Chanel's own sign under the constellation of Leo, appears at its most commanding in the Lion Puissant necklace (above) of white gold and diamonds. The gem setting masterfully recreates the head of a lion using a variety of diamond cuts and almost invisible settings to create a seamless flow of dazzling diamonds in this spectacular necklace with an icy elegance. It features a cushion cut diamond of 10.25 carats, D colour and flawless, and eight emerald cut diamonds of D colour, internally flawless to VVS, totalling 8.21 carats.
In contrast to the necklace above, the Lion Magistral , uses the warm tones of rose and yellow gold with diamonds and emeralds, as a canvas for a series of lions at rest. The main stone is a cushion cut emerald of 6.21 carats. It too transforms between long and short, the detached elements that can be worn as two bracelets.
Imprimés
The Imprimé pieces treat colour and pattern like a printed motif or a fabric. The spectacular Imprimé plastron necklace (above) flows down the neck with thirty round brilliant cut diamonds of D to F colour, internally flawless to VVS, yellow gold and yellow sapphires, totalling 12.90 carats. Stars, camellias, comets and the lion are all featured, bringing together Gabrielle Chanel's favourite signs and symbols.
The Imprimé Émeraude ring (above) pairs white gold and rose gold with diamonds around an octagonal cut emerald of 10.44 carats. The Imprimé Lion necklace (below) offers a grand finale to the group in white gold and rose gold with diamonds, an octagonal cut sapphire of 20.66 carats at its centre and a flawless triangle diamond of 3.03 carats, D colour.
