The Most Fabulous Jewellery From the Paris Haute Couture Shows
By
10 months ago
Coming to a red carpet soon
See the most spectacular high jewellery that was showcased in Paris this month.
The Best Bits from the Paris High Jewellery Shows
Every January and July, the world’s best dressed people descend on Paris for the haute couture shows, where the incredible designs on display are made by teams of dedicated craftspeople, who sometimes work on each individual item for hundreds of hours at a time.
Such craftsmanship has, of course, a price tag to match – prices start at around £15,000 – but in recent years haute couture has seen a renaissance in popularity, and now boasts an estimated 4,000 regular clients (up from a low of just 200 in the 1990s).
And it’s not just clothes that are attracting style lovers with deep pockets; the high jewellery collections that run concurrently with the couture shows have also seen a huge uptick in interest in recent seasons, with international buyers flooding in to invest in showstopping jewellery designs – McKinsey estimated that sales will rise by 12% between 2019 and 2025.
So what were the most exquisite pieces on display at Paris Haute Couture? Here are the fabulous fine jewellery collections that caught our eye.
Graff
Graff high jewellery necklace with nine-carat Mozambique ruby
In Paris the British jeweller unveiled a spectacular selection of gems, each hand-chosen by a member of the Graff family, including the rarest of diamonds and vibrant rubies, emeralds and sapphires.
Highlights included a necklace featuring a geometric design with a nine-carat Mozambique ruby centre stone, and earrings featuring Graff’s signature yellow diamonds, with each stone weighing a whopping 25 carats.
‘For over half a century, Graff has crafted exceptional jewellery that places the stones at centre stage – these magnificent jewels provide us with a creative freedom that is incomparable,’ said Anne-Eva Geffroy, Design Director at Graff.
‘Each creation is bold and contemporary, featuring graphic lines while retaining a design sensibility synonymous with Graff. When I was first presented with this collection of gems, it took my breath away. I knew immediately that we needed to experiment, to push the boundaries of our design language while remaining true to our stone-led design philosophy. We are always looking to innovate across design and craftsmanship, and we are also very fortunate to have access to the most fabulous diamonds and gemstones, which provide us with limitless inspiration.’
Cartier – Le Voyage Recommencé, Chapter III
Cartier Spina necklace / tiara
The brand’s Director of High Jewellery creation, Jacqueline Karachi, took inspiration from the natural world, the play of light, and purity of line for Chapter III, the latest iteration of Cartier’s Le Voyage Recommencé high jewellery collection.
‘Working with lines, volumes, colour palettes, inspiration from nature and world cultures… we explore so many territories to push the boundaries of creation and discover new horizons. Like a journey that is repeated over and over again,’ she explained.
Chapter III includes Cartier’s signature panther imagined as a necklace, alongside a magnificent 26.52-carat cabochon peridot surrounded by ribbed coral beads studded with peridot, diamonds and onyx. Another highlight is the Spina Necklace, created from two 4.56-carat cushion-cut diamonds and a 29.16-carat Ceylon sapphire, which, when mounted on a special frame, transforms into a jaw-dropping tiara.
De Beers – Forces of Nature
De Beers Forces of Nature, Giraffe Crown Ring and Lion Jacket Ring
Inspired by the wildlife of southern Africa, De Beers’s latest High Jewellery Collection, Forces of Nature, features eight exquisite ring designs based around solitaire diamonds, all of which can be worn in multiple ways.
These include creations inspired by lions, zebras, leopards, elephants, rhinos, buffalos, giraffes and kudus, animals that roam the 200,000 hectares of land that De Beers manage for conservation in southern Africa through its Building Forever programme.
David Morris – Skye
David Morris Horizon ring with pink padparadscha sapphire and pink diamonds
A lifelong obsession with the Aurora Borealis inspired the latest high jewellery collection from David Morris. It’s named after the CEO and Creative Director Jeremy Morris’s youngest daughter, and takes its cues from the many colours present within the Northern Lights – from blood red, to pink and blue, to the vibrant green that is most apparent to the human eye.
This inspiration is realised through the Mosaico choker with radiant emeralds; sea-blue sapphires and azure Paraiba tourmalines on the Juno earrings; the Arctic Dance choker and earrings with pink and blue spinels; and a showstopper Horizon ring, featuring a 34.88ct padparadscha sapphire and pink diamonds.
Also in the collection is the Selene necklace, which features the house’s signature rose-cut diamonds – a heritage cut that Jeremy Morris revived over 20 years ago, which creates an almost translucent sparkle.
Dior – Dior Délicat
For its latest high jewellery display, Dior’s Artistic Director Victoire de Castellane took inspiration from the dedicate embroidery and lace of the maison’s haute couture creations, combining ideas and motifs seen in the earlier Galons Dior and Dearest Dior collections.
Featuring 79 exceptional pieces with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, blue sapphires, rubellites and tanzanite, the jewellery is designed to hug the body perfectly, like the bespoke fit of a couture garment.
Boucheron – The Power of Couture
This latest collection from the historic Parisian jewellery maison revisits the couture heritage of its founder, Frédéric Boucheron, who started the brand in 1858.
The Power of Couture explores Creative Director Claire Choisne’s new approach to the concept of ceremonial ornaments, reimagining them with the addition of rock crystals and diamonds. ‘I decided to deconstruct the symbols of power to reappropriate them,’ she explains.
The collection includes reimagined medals, epaullettes, buttons, collars, bows, ornamental braids and brooches, all made from white gold, rock crystal and diamonds. Most of the pieces can be transformed: medals into necklaces, for instance, braids into bracelets, and brooches into headpieces.
