See the Best Fine Jewelry from Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2020
During the fine jewelry presentations throughout Haute Couture week, houses like Chopard and Louis Vuitton chose to highlight their expertise in precious stones.
Haute Couture Week in January is always a highlight thanks to the exciting new collections by houses like Valentino, Dior, and Schiaparelli, but it's also an important time for the Parisian fine jewelry houses, who present their unique creations in between the shows. Though the most established fine jewelry houses have proven to coexist over the years, several developments suggest that the competition between them is picking up in intensity. Alongside houses like Boucheron and Chanel, which have continued to extol their strong craft tradition and creative spirits, other houses are highlighting their ability to offer the most singular stones on the market.
This is the case for Chopard, which for the first time decided to exhibit its expertise in precious stones. Caroline Scheufele, the house's co-president and artistic director, presented a new assortment of extraordinary precious stones–four diamonds which reached some of the highest standards of flawlessness, including one in a shade of dark gray-greenish yellow, one 33.26-carat, emerald cut diamond shining in a fancy shade of vivid yellow, and a 34.63-carat paraíba tourmaline. A brand representative described the curated collection as "a decisive step that announces the age of maturity of Chopard fine jewelry." The ever-present universe of Victoire de Castellane served as a strong backdrop for the visual allure of red spinels, tourmalines, opals, and dazzling pearls.
But the most spectacular visions pushed unprecedented boundaries. One of these was Swarovski, which presented a wide range of spectacular laboratory diamonds, all of which were bright and evocative. The other was Louis Vuitton, which made an impression by presenting a completely new process of an exceptional rough diamond of 1,758 carats. Below, see some of the most luxurious fine jewelry creations from Haute Couture Spring 2020.
Patrice Leguereau, director of the Chanel fine jewelry studio, chose to create a new interpretation of Coco Chanel's classic motif of tweed.
The collection, comprising 45 pieces of fine jewelry, translates centuries-old weaving techniques borrowed from Scotland into precious metals. Gold, platinum, and onyx appear handspun to compose patterns of twists, grooves, and chess boards. Creating a true fabric with jewelry, the stones and pearls appear sewn together rather than set. Altogether, it's a precious warp and weft that couldn't be more desirable or contemporary.
The eight new Point d'Interrogation necklaces by Claire Choisne, creative director of Boucheron, have an impressive elegance. The seams, updates, and precious metalwork that light up a masterful, diamond-studded peacock feather necklace call back to trends from the end of the 19th century. "I love the XL volume of this necklace that I consider the mother of this collection," Choisne said. "It will give scale to the dimensions of future creations." The same level of expertise is visible through the Lierre de Paris necklace, whose animated leaves are set with emerald (which, in itself, is a feat that connoisseurs will appreciate).
Chopard invited fine jewelry insiders to witness its latest offerings in the field of precious stones during Haute Couture Week. This original assortment of jewels was composed by Caroline Scheufele, co-president and artistic director of the house. Four diamonds exhibited the highest degrees of purity imaginable for a diamond: grade D-flawless and D-internally flawless, all of type IIA. "This is the first time that the Maison has presented so many stones of such rarity simultaneously," Scheufele said. "It's a decisive step which announces the age of maturity of Chopard fine jewelry."
Never a house to sit in the background, Louis Vuitton made a major statement by presenting a completely new process of an exceptional rough diamond of 1,758 carats. The stone is not yet cut or polished, leaving its final form to the customer's wishes.
In the process, Louis Vuitton worked with Antwerp-based diamond cutter HB Company as well as Lucara Diamond, the Canadian company that owns the mine where this crude was extracted last April. 5% of the total sales proceeds will be reinvested in community projects in Botswana.
By way of comparison, in 2017, Lucara Diamond sold a 1,109-carat rough diamond to English jeweler Laurence Graff for $53 million. Though the stone imbued with black carbon has not yet revealed its true worth (we will not know its purity and its luster until the time of cleavage and size), this fact attests to the intense motivation of luxury groups to appropriate a booming sector.
Markus Swarovski came to Paris in person to present a wide range of spectacular laboratory diamonds, aptly called "Swarovski Created Diamonds." The range featured stunning shades including Androgyny Flamingo, Gothic Cognac, Heavy Metal Cherry, and Cubist Sky, all at a weight of 2.5 carats. This is a revolutionary offering from the Austrian fine jewelry giant, which intends for these stones to "increase the imagination of creators" while being worn by clients internationally.
Using a play on words around the term "you and me," a term that also happens to describe a ring making dialogue between two stones, the "Dior and Me" high jewelry collection revolves around 39 unique pieces. Victoire de Castellane's taste for asymmetry and monochromatic palettes is particularly present in this collection. The creations pull the designer's favorite stones to the foreground, of course featuring opal but also more unexpected gemstones like tourmaline, kunzite, malachite, turquoise, and in its big comeback: the pearl.
