EVENTS

Behind the Scenes: Paris Haute Joaillerie 2013

by

Maria Doulton

|

This is the featured image caption
Credit: This is the featured image credit

Maria Doulton of The Jewellery Editor, takes us behind the scenes at Chaumet, Louis Vuitton, Boucheron, Cartier & more during Haute Joaillerie presentations in Paris

Over the last decade, collaborations between luxury brands and contemporary artists have gone beyond mere artistic partnerships towards a new kind of luxury branding.

PARIS – Art and fashion have always developed side by side, for fashion, like art, often gives visual expression to the cultural zeitgeist. During the 1920s, Salvador Dalí created dresses for Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiapparelli. In the 1930s, Ferragamo’s shoes commissioned designs for advertisements from Futurist painter Lucio Venna, while Gianni Versace commissioned works from artists such as Alighiero Boetti and Roy Lichtenstein for the launch of his collections. Yves Saint Laurent’s vast art collection, recently auctioned at Christie’s in Paris, testified to his great love of art and revealed the influence of a variety of artists on his own designs.

In the 1980s, relationships between luxury brands and artists were advanced when Alain Dominique Perrin created the Fondation Cartier. In the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, a book marking the foundation’s 20th anniversary, Perrin says he makes “a connection between all the different sorts of arts, and luxury goods are a kind of art. Luxury goods are handicrafts of art, applied art.”

The Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemparain building in Paris

Maria Doulton of The Jewellery Editor, takes us behind the scenes at Chaumet, Louis Vuitton, Boucheron, Cartier & more during Haute Joaillerie presentations in Paris

Paris 2013 Jewellery Preview from The Jewellery Editor

Maria Doulton of The Jewellery Editor, takes us behind the scenes at Chaumet, Louis Vuitton, Boucheron, Cartier & more during Haute Joaillerie presentations in Paris

Bright, look-at-me colours were bursting out from the display cases of virtually every jeweller I visited in Paris during Couture Week. Boucheron’s Hotel de la Lumiere collection stood out as an exception. The cool, clear tones of white, white and more white, with a hint of nude pink or airy blue, sufficed to get across a very clear message: less is more.

The play of light and shadows that criss-cross the Boucheron boutique on the corner of Place Vendôme inspired Creative Director Claire Choisne’s newest collection of high jewels, interpreted in diamonds and rock crystal. The futuristic new collection successfully balanced designs from the house’s rich archives with a thoroughly modern twist

At Cartier, inspiration for L’Odyssée de Cartier Parcours d’un Style came from the searing golden-brown heat of an African sunset, the shimmering pulse of a city and the delicate beauty of Asian art. A breathtaking array of precious stones were mustered, including sapphires, emeralds and diamonds, alongside lesser-known gems such as rutilated quartz, mandarin garnets and obsidian.

Boucheron’s Hotel de la Lumiere collection

Louis Vuitton took us on a journey through time with designs from Lorenz Bäumer, who has been collaborating with the house for several years. Following on from last year’s Voyage dans le Temps the chief gemologist at Vuitton travelled the world to find the best examples of exceptional spinels to add excitement to the ‘Dentelle de Monogram’ rings and earrings, presented last year in diamonds.

Lilac spinels from Tajikistan, grey spinels from Sri Lanka or deep red ones from Tanzania add excitement and rarity value. I was bowled over by a neon-bright blue tourmaline from Brazil, sourced from an ancient mine that quite literally glows in the dark. This impressive, attention-grabbing stone is set into a geometric and futuristic-looking ring from the ‘Flashforward’ collection.

The intertwined ‘X’ motif of the ‘Liens’ (or ‘ties’) collection has been seen in the work of Chaumet since 1907, but this year, the highly symbolic cross steps into the limelight with the arrival of the Liens collection 12 one-off rings. An interesting feature of this collection is the fact that the colours are limited to white diamonds and blue precious stones.

L’Odyssée de Cartier ‘Solar’ high jewellery necklace

Beyond the majestic deep blue of the sapphire, aquamarines and tourmalines create an azure contrast to the icy white of diamonds. Both classic yet with a simplicity that is so modern, the structure of these rings makes the stones appear to float effortlessly above ribbons of baguettes and rows of perfect white brilliant cut diamonds. Geometric, elegant and understated, the ‘Liens’ collection enters quietly, but is here to stay.

Bulgari has launched a collection of one-of-a-kind jewels in its High Diva Collection, inspired by iconic beauties of the 1950s and 1960s. From a Serpenti necklace crafted from pearls, jadeite, rubellites and diamonds to a bracelet set with an extraordinary 243.83ct of cabochon Zambian emeralds, each jewel features rare gems in vivid shades – a trademark of the Italian jeweller.

At Dior, the mood was similarly technicolor. Following on from 2012’s explosive colours of Dear Dior, creative director of Dior jewellery and watches, Victoire de Castellane, unveiled Cher Dior, mixing up exotic influences as diverse as Mughal and Russian.

Dior’s Cher Dior by Victoire de Castellane

A new galaxy of potently coloured jewels that beam out like messengers from another world, where impossibly bright Fanta orange is best friends with peppermint green and hot raspberry pink.

These cleverly constructed jewels layer stones upon stones to create mesmerising effects that astonish with their colourful pyrotechnics. Even the back of each jewel is beautiful, where the metal openwork on display on the back of each piece echoes patterns from Dior’s archive of lace designs.

To further investigate Fine Jewellery and Timepieces on Luxury Society, we invite your to explore the related materials as follows:

Luxury Watchmakers Focus on Sustainability
In Conversation With Marc A. Hayek, Swatch Group
Women’s Luxury Watch Trends For 2013

Maria Doulton
Maria Doulton

Founder of The Jewellery Editor.com

Maria is a freelance journalist who writes about watches and jewellery for both UK and international newspapers and magazines including the Financial Times, ST Fashion, The Telegraph and Times Luxx. Maria saw the need for a website focused on jewellery and watches and with Christine launched The Jewellery Editor.com in September 2011. Maria first became interested in watches and jewellery when she lived in Mexico and was looking for a change from her former job at corporate branding company Wolff Olins. Maria still has her first watch: a Mickey Mouse Tissot on a red canvas strap and her favourite jewel is her great-grandmother’s gold die for sealing letters worn as a pendant.

EVENTS

Behind the Scenes: Paris Haute Joaillerie 2013

by

Maria Doulton

|

This is the featured image caption
Credit : This is the featured image credit

Maria Doulton of The Jewellery Editor, takes us behind the scenes at Chaumet, Louis Vuitton, Boucheron, Cartier & more during Haute Joaillerie presentations in Paris

Over the last decade, collaborations between luxury brands and contemporary artists have gone beyond mere artistic partnerships towards a new kind of luxury branding.

PARIS – Art and fashion have always developed side by side, for fashion, like art, often gives visual expression to the cultural zeitgeist. During the 1920s, Salvador Dalí created dresses for Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiapparelli. In the 1930s, Ferragamo’s shoes commissioned designs for advertisements from Futurist painter Lucio Venna, while Gianni Versace commissioned works from artists such as Alighiero Boetti and Roy Lichtenstein for the launch of his collections. Yves Saint Laurent’s vast art collection, recently auctioned at Christie’s in Paris, testified to his great love of art and revealed the influence of a variety of artists on his own designs.

In the 1980s, relationships between luxury brands and artists were advanced when Alain Dominique Perrin created the Fondation Cartier. In the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, a book marking the foundation’s 20th anniversary, Perrin says he makes “a connection between all the different sorts of arts, and luxury goods are a kind of art. Luxury goods are handicrafts of art, applied art.”

The Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemparain building in Paris

Maria Doulton of The Jewellery Editor, takes us behind the scenes at Chaumet, Louis Vuitton, Boucheron, Cartier & more during Haute Joaillerie presentations in Paris

Paris 2013 Jewellery Preview from The Jewellery Editor

Maria Doulton of The Jewellery Editor, takes us behind the scenes at Chaumet, Louis Vuitton, Boucheron, Cartier & more during Haute Joaillerie presentations in Paris

Bright, look-at-me colours were bursting out from the display cases of virtually every jeweller I visited in Paris during Couture Week. Boucheron’s Hotel de la Lumiere collection stood out as an exception. The cool, clear tones of white, white and more white, with a hint of nude pink or airy blue, sufficed to get across a very clear message: less is more.

The play of light and shadows that criss-cross the Boucheron boutique on the corner of Place Vendôme inspired Creative Director Claire Choisne’s newest collection of high jewels, interpreted in diamonds and rock crystal. The futuristic new collection successfully balanced designs from the house’s rich archives with a thoroughly modern twist

At Cartier, inspiration for L’Odyssée de Cartier Parcours d’un Style came from the searing golden-brown heat of an African sunset, the shimmering pulse of a city and the delicate beauty of Asian art. A breathtaking array of precious stones were mustered, including sapphires, emeralds and diamonds, alongside lesser-known gems such as rutilated quartz, mandarin garnets and obsidian.

Boucheron’s Hotel de la Lumiere collection

Louis Vuitton took us on a journey through time with designs from Lorenz Bäumer, who has been collaborating with the house for several years. Following on from last year’s Voyage dans le Temps the chief gemologist at Vuitton travelled the world to find the best examples of exceptional spinels to add excitement to the ‘Dentelle de Monogram’ rings and earrings, presented last year in diamonds.

Lilac spinels from Tajikistan, grey spinels from Sri Lanka or deep red ones from Tanzania add excitement and rarity value. I was bowled over by a neon-bright blue tourmaline from Brazil, sourced from an ancient mine that quite literally glows in the dark. This impressive, attention-grabbing stone is set into a geometric and futuristic-looking ring from the ‘Flashforward’ collection.

The intertwined ‘X’ motif of the ‘Liens’ (or ‘ties’) collection has been seen in the work of Chaumet since 1907, but this year, the highly symbolic cross steps into the limelight with the arrival of the Liens collection 12 one-off rings. An interesting feature of this collection is the fact that the colours are limited to white diamonds and blue precious stones.

L’Odyssée de Cartier ‘Solar’ high jewellery necklace

Beyond the majestic deep blue of the sapphire, aquamarines and tourmalines create an azure contrast to the icy white of diamonds. Both classic yet with a simplicity that is so modern, the structure of these rings makes the stones appear to float effortlessly above ribbons of baguettes and rows of perfect white brilliant cut diamonds. Geometric, elegant and understated, the ‘Liens’ collection enters quietly, but is here to stay.

Bulgari has launched a collection of one-of-a-kind jewels in its High Diva Collection, inspired by iconic beauties of the 1950s and 1960s. From a Serpenti necklace crafted from pearls, jadeite, rubellites and diamonds to a bracelet set with an extraordinary 243.83ct of cabochon Zambian emeralds, each jewel features rare gems in vivid shades – a trademark of the Italian jeweller.

At Dior, the mood was similarly technicolor. Following on from 2012’s explosive colours of Dear Dior, creative director of Dior jewellery and watches, Victoire de Castellane, unveiled Cher Dior, mixing up exotic influences as diverse as Mughal and Russian.

Dior’s Cher Dior by Victoire de Castellane

A new galaxy of potently coloured jewels that beam out like messengers from another world, where impossibly bright Fanta orange is best friends with peppermint green and hot raspberry pink.

These cleverly constructed jewels layer stones upon stones to create mesmerising effects that astonish with their colourful pyrotechnics. Even the back of each jewel is beautiful, where the metal openwork on display on the back of each piece echoes patterns from Dior’s archive of lace designs.

To further investigate Fine Jewellery and Timepieces on Luxury Society, we invite your to explore the related materials as follows:

Luxury Watchmakers Focus on Sustainability
In Conversation With Marc A. Hayek, Swatch Group
Women’s Luxury Watch Trends For 2013

Maria Doulton
Maria Doulton

Founder of The Jewellery Editor.com

Maria is a freelance journalist who writes about watches and jewellery for both UK and international newspapers and magazines including the Financial Times, ST Fashion, The Telegraph and Times Luxx. Maria saw the need for a website focused on jewellery and watches and with Christine launched The Jewellery Editor.com in September 2011. Maria first became interested in watches and jewellery when she lived in Mexico and was looking for a change from her former job at corporate branding company Wolff Olins. Maria still has her first watch: a Mickey Mouse Tissot on a red canvas strap and her favourite jewel is her great-grandmother’s gold die for sealing letters worn as a pendant.

Related articles

EVENTS

[Video] LS Keynote Shanghai 2023: The Future of Luxury E-commerce

EVENTS

[Video] LS Keynote Shanghai 2023: The Grand Reopening: What’s Next for the Chinese Market

EVENTS

[Video] LS Keynote Shanghai 2023: The New Age of Digital