The colour in majesty
The white diamond no longer has the monopoly of the jewelers’ windows. The collections of the houses in Place Vendôme and elsewhere live to the rhythm of color. Precious stones, fine and ornamental, but also lacquer and enamel in shades as original as bewitching, as surprising as sophisticated, invite to all the bold chromatic and daring associations. The green, red and blue trio, embodied by the iconic emeralds, rubies and sapphires, continues. Moreover, when their quality is considered exceptional, these three are even more expensive than white diamonds. Alongside these great classics of gemology, tsavorites, aquamarine, spinel, garnet and tourmalines Paraïba now enchant amateurs. And ornamental stones, such as lapis lazuli, malachite, coral or tiger’s eye, also settle in the hearts of the clients. The color and its associations are constitutive of the style of Cartier since its beginnings. Red and black, green and black, red, black and white… Or blue and green. In his time, Louis Cartier imposed this combination, long considered unsightly. These two cold tones were considered unorthodox according to the taste of the good society of the time. What he called “peacock decor” is now a jeweler’s signature. So many contrasts have become emblematic, today reinterpreted in new tones offered by the great variety of selected stones. Cartier, nicknamed the king of jewelers and the jeweler of kings, imagines an unpublished chromatic palette for the third chapter of the high jewellery collection Beauties du monde. The Panther, which has continued to enrich the imagination of the Parisian house since 1914, appears here on an amazing necklace with the allure of a souvenir talisman. On this beautiful piece, the feline with the coat of diamonds and onyx is lying on a central emerald cut cabochon. The animal seems to reign over a garden populated with other sumptuous gems of an enchanting green.
The British Graff is one of the undisputed references when it comes to colored gems of absolute perfection. The London house fell in love this year with blue sapphires and rubies for breathtaking adornments. First, a 8.46 carat Royal Blue sapphire mounted in a ring. The blue reflections of the stone are magnified by a shower of diamonds. Then, a pair of earrings is composed of sapphires with multiple sizes for 39.50 carats. Finally, two very rare ruby pigeon blood (8,10 and 7,40 carats) cushion size, hypnotising the look, are at the heart of a pair of earrings. This spring, New York jeweler Harry Winston is wearing the habit of gardener… exceptional. The house unveils three unique pieces animated by incredible emeralds, a nod to the American Gorgeous Green. Square, cushion or emerald sizes, the incandescent green gems give life to two necklaces and earrings crossed with sparkling diamonds.
Marriage between precious and precious stones
Caroline Scheufele, Chopard’s creative soul, sees life in color with an unprecedented series of solitary rings. Reinventing the category of eternity rings, these creations named Coloured Dreams combine the concept of a timeless jewel with precious stones with a choice of two bold frames. Held together by four fasteners formed by the sides of a heart in polished gold or set with brilliant, an emerald, a violet sapphire, a ruby or a tanzanite are sublimated by the lightness of the frame that allows the light to pierce easily through their facets and to revive their colors. Large houses as independent jewellers now have an equal fascination for stones of noble and “commoner” extraction. They play the matchmaker, celebrating a wedding that is as unexpected as it is dazzling between precious and fine stones, offering themselves vast palettes of colors in shades that range from the lightest to the darkest. Pale pink, burgundy, lilac, grenadine red, yellow, brown, mint green with water, navy blue, cardinal violet… all audacity is allowed!
Bvlgari built its reputation by being the first to mix on the same jewel precious and fine stones, allowing to blossom and to collide amethysts, spinels, mandarin garnets, rubellites, diamonds, turquoises, sapphires and peridots. Lucia Silverstri, director of the creation of the Roman jeweler, excels in this art of multicolored composition. It handles large gems “like the Ritz” without distinction of genre or price, like the latest pieces of high jewelry such as choker necklace Color Treasures which combines amethyst, aquamarine and tanzanite cabochon cut with pink gold and diamonds or the Diva’s Dream model that mixes chrysoprase, malachite, turquoise, rubellite, spinel and diamonds. God save the King! seems to exclaim the British jeweler David Morris. Inspired by the coronation of King Charles III, the house presents the ring The Coronation which takes the three colors of the Union Jack, the flag of Great Britain: red, white and blue. Wearing this famous combination in a spiral of precious stones, this unisex ring highlights more than seven carats of red spinels and diamonds alongside a cushion-cut blue spinel of 17.30 carats.
At the jeweler Mellerio, a family home on Rue de la Paix, the president and artistic director Laure-Isabelle Mellerio has a long-standing passion for colour. This sense of associations of clashing shades illuminates the Color Queen ring collection. A Paraïba tourmaline rests on a bed of rubies, a spessartite garnet on a paving of pink sapphires, a tsavorite on pink spinels. Weddings are daring, but they invent a new harmony. The Italian jeweller Pomellato combines his art of colour with the Nudo aesthetic. Its design unites the circle to the square to create a shape with perfect irregularity, thus highlighting pink or lemon quartz, blue topaz, mint green prasiolite with water or amethyst. The Nudo family, fashioned in pink or white gold, also includes necklaces and earrings sleepy shape.
Infinite color variations
The jewellery industry likes to blur lines by inviting ornamental stones into its collections. Set in majesty, malachite, lapis-lazuli and coral thus earn new letters of nobility that redefine the notion of precious. For many decades, these exceptional minerals have crossed the path of the creations of Van Cleef & Arpels, this omnipresence in the collections of the jeweler offers infinite variations of shades and textures. Since its origins, the house has been inspired by the vitality of the flora, the diversity of the fauna and the symbols of luck. The new opus of the Lucky Spring collection is punctuated by the alternation of lily of the valley buds, ladybugs and plum blossoms. Rings between the fingers, bracelets, long necklace and clip are fashioned in pink gold, white mother-of-pearl, onyx and carnelian. The iconic Dinh Van handcuffs see life in multicolor. Iconic symbol of love and attachment since 1976, the collection pays tribute to the passion of Jean Dinh Van for ornamental stones. Six exclusive creations are composed of two models of XXL necklaces in limited edition in lapis-lazuli, mother of pearl and malachite and onyx and four pendants magnified by coral beads, malachite, chrysoprase or lapis-lazuli. Buccellati continues to innovate with its iconic Opera Tulle collection. On the new variations of pendant and earrings, the amazonite is enhanced by a tulle decoration in gold engraved by hand, one of the signatures of the Italian jeweler. It is a question of artisanal technique that gives color to the jewel. The color lacquer becomes brilliant and the enamel excites lovers of jewelry. Enamel, a silica powder heated at very high temperatures, allows to obtain colorful decorations. Among the different processes, we obtain a translucent effect with the up-to-date fold-enamel, when the “cloisonné” enamel is used to create patterns. As for lacquer, it provides a brighter effect than enamel. This paint based on vegetable pigments is applied with a brush or syringe, and allows a greater variety of shades.
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