30 January 2013
Fortunately for Chanel, an old Pathé newsreel has come to light covering the short-lived 1932 Bijoux de Diamants exhibition. The flickering black-and-white footage, with carefully scripted commentary in French, shows just how respected Mademoiselle Chanel was. Her exhibition of highly precious diamond jewels in a time when world economies were reeling from the Great Crash of 1930 caught the public's imagination. How could she be so audacious in such hard times?
There is the genius of Chanel, who, undaunted by hugely valuable diamonds, played with them with the ease she employed in her couture creations. 'Chanel brings diamonds back into vogue by marrying art and apparent casualness,' says the commentator, who is keen to point out that the wax mannequins wearing the jewels have real hair, untortured by perms. It is also clear that the world is in awe of Mademoiselle Chanel, who plays so lightly with such hefty carats. 'Only a woman can scatter precious stones so gracefully through the hair, with jewels cascading like gossamer ribbon,' remarks the commentator.
The footage shows us how Chanel draped diamonds across the forehead of the pretty wax mannequins and created rings that magically appear to float above the hand. An open necklace in the shape of a comet caresses the body. Watching the film - this glimpse into the past - enlightens the viewer to the fact that, in Gabrielle Chanel's hands, diamonds became flattering and beautiful, not cold status symbols or denominators of class. As if in defiance of her humble origins, Chanel took the ultimate symbol of wealth and made it her own.
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From the new collection inspired by the 1932 exhibition, Chanel 'Soleil' brooch in 18ct white gold, set with 1765 brilliant-cut diamonds totalling 8.7ct and 16 brilliant-cut yellow diamonds weighing 1.5ct.
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This Franges diamond cuff from the Chanel jewellery collection, inspired by Coco Chanel's groundbreaking 1932 Bijoux de Diamants exhibition.
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Chanel 'Constellation du Lion' ring in 18ct white gold, set with 157 brilliant-cut diamonds totalling 1.9ct, a 1.5ct round-cut diamond and a 91ct fancy-cut crystal.
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From the new collection inspired by the 1932 exhibition, Chanel 'Etoile Filante' head jewel in 18ct white gold, set with a 1.0ct brilliant-cut diamond, 164 brilliant-cut diamonds totalling 11.7ct, 54 baguette-cut diamonds totalling 3.2ct, 22 princess-cut diamonds totalling 0.9ct and 40 fancy-cut diamonds with a total weight of 0.9ct.
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An article in 'VU' from November 1932 covering Madame Chanel's diamond jewels exhibition in Paris.
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The original cover of the 1932 press kit for the exhibition, held in Chanel's own apartment.
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The original 1932 Franges necklace, draped over one of the lifelike wax mannequins.
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The original Noeud necklace from Chanel's 1932 exhibition.
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Chanel 'Facettes' ring in 18ct white gold, set with 158 brilliant-cut diamonds totalling 2.3ct and 27 fancy-cut sapphires weighing 21.4ct.
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Chanel 'Galaxie' ring in 18ct white gold, set with 10 baguette-cut diamonds totalling 1.5ct, 164 brilliant-cut diamonds weighing 1.2ct and a 6ct oval-cut sapphire from Kashmir.
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Chanel 'Voie lacte´e' ring LG in 18ct white gold, set with 79 brilliant-cut diamonds totalling 2.6ct and a white South Sea cultured pearl with a diameter of 12.2mm.
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From the new collection inspired by the 1932 exhibition, the Chanel 'Couture' earrings in 18ct white gold, set with 274 round-cut white diamonds totalling 2.5ct, 16 baguette-cut white diamonds of 1.5ct and 236 brilliant-cut black diamonds weighing 1.5ct.
