Editor’s Note
This report details the inaugural Grand Prix de la Haute Joaillerie Awards in Monaco, celebrating leading luxury maisons for their mastery and heritage in high jewellery.
This past weekend at the Salle des Etoiles, Monte-Carlo in Monaco, the inaugural Grand Prix de la Haute Joaillerie Awards took place – honoring the biggest names in jewellery mastery.
Among those honoured: Tiffany & Co., Louis Vuitton, Boucheron, Bulgari, Chanel, Chopard, Dior and a host of other brands whose heritage and jewellery legacy make them leaders in the field.
The event, presented by the Monte-Carlo Societe des Bains de Mer (SBM) group, honors luxury maisons from around the world.
Eight awards were offered, all selected by an independent jury of experts. Each of the participating brands showcased unique pieces to be judged on their creativity and mastery of the craft.
Among the awards: Grand Prix Best Piece of the Year awarded to Chanel for its Sweater Necklace; Jury Special Prize, awarded to Tiffany & Co., which also won the Heritage Prize; Design, which went to Messka; Gemstone, which was awarded to Louis Vuitton for its Apogée necklace; Savoir-Fair that went to Dior; Public Prize (voted on by more than 20,000) went to Dolce & Gabbana; the Visionary of the Year award honored Caroline Scheufele, Co-president and Artistic Director of Chopard.
The Louis Vuitton Apogée necklace boasts a pear-cut Brazilian emerald pendant and more than 10 carats of diamonds for the logo motif alone.
Naturally, selecting the most superb jewellery piece can be a highly subjective task. Do you love the overall look, the craftsmanship, the design and architecture, the stones used, and so on. Coming to a consensus had to be difficult. But there were some definite standouts among the eight winners.
The Apogée platinum and white gold necklace from Louis Vuitton’s Virtuosity High Jewellery collection, for instance, is a one-of-a-kind piece from multiple standpoints – not the least of which is the stunning 30.75-carat pear-shaped Brazilian emerald that is the drop pendant star.
The multi-row diamond collar necklace from which it drops is also set with 10.56 carats of D Flawless diamonds set to form the highly recognisable LV Monogram star shape. The necklace is convertible and can be worn as a one-diamond row collar with pendant drop or without the pendant drip or as the multi-row necklace.
Another standout winner is Tiffany & Co., which, as mentioned, won two prizes: Heritage and Jury’s Special. The Heritage award was given for the Tiffany & Co. Butterflies choker necklace – one of the first designs created by Jean Schlumberger back in 1956. Meticulously set with diamonds, turquoise, amethyst, sapphire, spinel and peridot gemstones, the high-jewellery necklace is a spectacular rendition of nature’s colorful butterflies.
Honoring the creators of some of the exquisite jewels is also key to the newly minted Grand Prix de la Haute Joaillerie event. Caroline Scheufele, Co-President of Chopard and Artistic Director, was named the Visionary of the Year winner.
She has also been highly active in promoting Chopard on the Red Carpet and keeping the brand in the spotlight not only on celebrities and socialites, but also at the Cannes Film Festival and others.
While each of these creations is a one-of-a-kind piece, these brands, and the others named during the event, offer collections for jewellery lovers in all walks of life and avenues of income.
