How did a hidden Versailles bedroom and a Russian love affair inspire Chanel and Dior to create their latest high jewellery collections?
Private passageways and boudoirs inspired Dior, and a fascination with Russia famously inspired Chanel, but now many high jewellers are drawing richly from history to craft new collections
The virtues of vintage-inspired jewellery come to the forefront when connoisseurs and collectors become interested in the provenance of items they invest in, such as art or timepieces. And jewellers are creating jewels that resonate with the romance of history thanks to enduring design aesthetics.
In the new Paris, Vu Du 26 collection Boucheron creates the Colonne d’Acanthe long necklace, inspired by the acanthus columns that were a common feature of ancient Parisian buildings.
It takes shape in a tassel made with freshwater white pearls, with acanthus leaves on top in carved mother-of-pearl and paved with diamonds.
Continuing to embrace history, the Arcades ring by Boucheron is also inspired by the city’s architecture.
Two antique medallions – cameos in ivory with their original ebony wood frames from the 1820s, of Livia Drusilla and her husband, the Roman emperor Domiziano Augustus – play protagonists in the Imperial Acanthus transformable necklace by Bangkok-based Italian jeweller Alessio Boschi, whose intricately crafted, unabashedly flamboyant creations are gaining converts.
“The Acanthus leaves motif is taken from … the carved marble panels of the Ara Pacis altar, a 2,000-year-old ancient Roman temple, built under the rule of Augustus and dedicated to the [Roman] goddess [of peace] Pax”, says Boschi.
Echoing the antique charm of estate jewels, the latest Belle bridal collection by Harry Winston, pays homage to the exceptional jewels of Arabella “Belle” Huntington.
The jeweller’s legacy began when he bought the entire collection of this prominent American jewellery estate, for US$1.2 million in 1926.
Continuing to be inspired by history – archival sketches dating back to the 1950s and 60s – the new one-of-a-kind cocktail rings collection, Winston Candy by Harry Winston, pairs fancy-coloured centre stones with a mix of diamonds and vibrant gems, from mandarin garnets, to rare tourmalines, pastel sapphires and sparkling spinels. Intriguing colour combinations recreate the grandeur of the jewellery of that time.