I travelled to Paris to visit Louis Vuitton's gem department in Place Vendôme. Here, I discovered how each jewel starts its life, inspired by one of these surprising stones. And don't expect the traditional line-up of gemstones. Rare, top-quality precious coloured stones in the most unusual shades are the name of the game here.
While I was there I spoke to Hamdi Chatti, Vice President of Watches and Jewellery, about Louis Vuitton's unusual approach to creating jewels, which are shaking up our concept of what high jewellery can look like.
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A 20.01ct mandarin garnet and garnet beads sit alongside the sketch for a high jewellery necklace in Louis Vuitton's Chain Attraction collection.
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Square-cut emeralds before they are set into an intricate necklace from Louis Vuitton's Chain Attraction collection.
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Louis Vuitton hunts down the most perfect and colourful gems to create unexpected combinations of stones and colours in its high jewellery creations.
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Diamonds play second fiddle in Louis Vuitton's Chain Attraction collection, highlighting the beauty of the coloured stones.
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This bright-orange 20.01ct mandarin garnet is the centrepiece in a high jewellery necklace from the Chain Attraction collection.
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Green Tahitian pearls are paired up with emeralds in one necklace from another high jewellery necklace in Louis Vuitton's new Chain Attraction collection.
