Editor’s Note
This article highlights how high jewelry has become an integral part of Paris Haute Couture Week, with Place Vendôme houses showcasing diamond-centric creations that appeal to a global clientele seeking exceptional craftsmanship.
On the sidelines of the Spring-Summer 2022 haute couture presentations, the houses of Place Vendôme unveiled their new high jewelry creations. All of them skillfully highlight the diamond.
By Herve Dewintre | January 28, 2022
High jewelry presentations have become an essential part of the Paris haute couture week for the past 15 years. It must be said that both disciplines appeal to the same international clientele, passionate about excellence and French craftsmanship. The first event of 2022 lives up to expectations. Indeed, despite pandemic-related restrictions, the vast majority of major jewelry houses were present, with the exception of Van Cleef & Arpels, which nonetheless offered an exhibition paying homage to couture within its heritage gallery. First observation: the diamond reigned supreme in these collections, where the queen of gemstones revealed the intensity of its fire at the heart of unique pieces requiring rare craftsmanship. No minimalism: it’s time for a flamboyance combining refinement and creative research; the moment is undeniably one of dreaming and wonder.
ABSOLU N°5 necklace in white gold and diamonds.
1 brilliant-cut diamond 5.01 cts D IF.
1 brilliant-cut diamond 2.50 cts D IF.
ABSOLU N°5 ring in white gold and diamonds.
1 brilliant-cut diamond 10.06 cts D FL.
1 brilliant-cut diamond 1.05 ct D IF
Before the presentation, next July, of a vast collection celebrating the 80th anniversary of Chanel high jewelry, the house on Rue Cambon unveils to its privileged clients a new opus of the N°5 collection dedicated to the famous perfume of the same name. Imagined by Patrice Leguéreau, Director of Jewelry Creation at Chanel, this “chapter 3” once again brings together two worlds: that of 1921, when the creator revolutionized the world of perfumery with a modern fragrance in a pure bottle, and that of 1932, the year during which Mademoiselle disrupted the codes of French High Jewelry with a single collection intended to restore all its luster to the diamond market. The panache of its new creations is expressed through a collection of white diamonds and a myriad of settings used to depict the flowers used in the perfume’s composition. The delicate volumes of Grasse jasmine, May rose, and ylang-ylang are brought together in generous compositions that attest to the ingenuity of the house’s Parisian workshops.
Deferlante Necklace
Deferlante Collection by Chaumet
Deferlante necklace in white gold, set with two pear-shaped D VVS1 diamonds of 3.57 & 1.05 carats, an emerald-cut D VVS2 diamond of 1.56 carats, an emerald-cut E VVS1 diamond of 1.54 carats, an emerald-cut E VVS2 diamond of 1.54 carats, an emerald-cut D VVS1 diamond of 1.51 carats, a square F VVS2 diamond of 0.70 carats, and brilliant-cut, princess-cut, pear-shaped, square, and baguette diamonds.
Photo credit: Chaumet haute joaillerie
The pandemic has also not harmed Chaumet, where the number of clients has increased across all markets while special orders doubled in less than three years. Lovers of the venerable house will be delighted to discover this capsule collection, named Deferlante, which concentrates all the signatures of the jeweler of Napoleon and Joséphine. The movement of water inspires airy compositions in the workshops at 12, Place Vendôme: notably a three-strand necklace where diamonds roll down to the décolleté. Among them, a superb 3.57-carat pear-shaped diamond, the preferred cut of Joséphine, which reminded her of dewdrops:
The use of the knife-edge technique and the virtuosity of a setting reduced to three prongs undoubtedly reinforce the delicacy of these creations that transform the diamond into a luminous burst.
Boucheron Haute Joaillerie