ANATOMY OF LIGHT

“She was inspired by the waters: Iceland, strong, powerful, raw, in the rush of a waterfall, she saw a diamond necklace, in the surge of waves, shoulder jewellery, in the heart of a glacier, a rock crystal bracelet seemingly sculpted by the passage of water.” This is how Boucheron describes the Haute Joaillerie collection designed by Claire Choisne and presented during the week of lustre and light that is drawing to a close. The Maison’s 26 Haute Joaillerie creations in tribute to water, once again defying the laws of weightlessness and radiation. 

©BOUCHERON

Paris was the stage for this magic, with collections that pushed the limits of craftsmanship and virtuosity. A 148 cm diamond cascade necklace, the longest piece ever made by the ateliers, demonstrates this lesson in excellence, magnified by the enmeshment work that required more than 3,000 hours of labour. For Hermès, Pierre Hardy's Shapes of Colour collection is an “eclectic and radiant odyssey,” in a powerful play of illusion that combines geometry with fluidity, roundness with line and polychrome explorations. Like an arc of colours, Hermès Diaprés, comprises a necklace set with 1400 stones in gradations along with sections titled Fresh Paint and Color Vibes that make up this bold symphony, associating a square with a ruby, the yellow of a beryl with a triangle, the blue of a sapphire with a circle. The brilliance is there, revisited by the House's codes – like the anchor chain, the Birkin and Kelly bags, which have become veritable jewels set in stone.

©DE BEERS

“Colour is very present at Hermès; there is even a colour library for silk that lists up to 75,000 references,” explains Pierre Hardy. “Paradoxically, this is the first time in the House's history that we have used such a wide variety of stones for Haute Joaillerie: emeralds, rubies, sapphires and diamonds...”

©CHAUMET

Between graphics and storytelling, patterns and gradations, lines and arabesques, Haute Joaillerie pushes back the boundaries of exceptional craftsmanship.  Clean lines and clarity of form plunge us into a world that combines the greatest simplicity with the greatest complexity. With Chaumet's knife edge, the structure fades away to make way for light, its absolute, magnetic radiance, confirming the evolution of the House and its new promises of eternity. This vision is particularly sublime in the Jardin de Pierreries necklace, with its elliptical, lanceolate, oblong or serrated leaves, its mobile diamond stems haloed by purple sapphires blooming on the skin.

©Vito Fernicola - Natalia Vodionova wearing the Hypnotic Scale collection from ©MESSIKA