It’s a busy week in Paris, where the new High Jewelry collections are being presented. Whitewall is there to share some of our favorite debuts, starting with Gucci, Chaumet, Bvlgari, and David Morris.
Honoring the house’s relationship with the silver screen, Bvlgari’s High Jewelry collection “Cinemagia” translated the magic of movies into something tangible. Stories by great Italian filmmakers like Martin Scorsese and Federico Fellini informed a collection of decadent, whimsical, and colorful jewels, seen in pieces like a pair of rose gold earrings outfitted with sparkling diamonds and large oval stones in green, orange, pink, and purple; and a collar-like necklace of blue sapphires and white diamonds, set into sections of glistening mother of pearl. Other highlights included a bracelet fashioned after a film reel in black onyx and diamonds, and a rose gold ring with a great green emerald at its center.
David Morris travelled to the enchanted isle of Mykonos, where hidden beaches, cobblestone streets, and sun-drenched colors proved a worthy inspiration for the brand’s 2019 High Jewelry designs. Continuing the house’s signature use of bold colored stones, the collection employed gems like pink sapphires, yellow diamonds, and marvelous blue and green hued opals to tell the stories of the island in floral motifs and styles as beautiful as the surroundings that informed them. Pieces like the pink pearl Rhea choker, an emerald and white diamond necklace, and the Amaryllis ruby jewelry emitted visions of blooming bougainvillea, groves of olive trees, and the glow of the setting sun, making us imagine that Mykonos might be the most beautiful place on Earth.
For its first ever High Jewelry collection, the house of Gucci debuted Hortus Deliciarum designs along with a new boutique at Place Vendôme in Paris. Featuring over 200 pieces (most of which are one-of-a-kind), Alessandro Michele’s designs are centered around vibrantly colored gemstones and mythical imagery reminiscent of the garden of Eden, which worked in tandem to embody three themes—eternal love, the majesty of the animal kingdom, and a selection of singular solitaires that recalled the beauty of a garden in full bloom. At the hand of Michele, symbols like the lion, Ouroboros serpent, Cupid’s arrows, and the crucifix featured gemstones set in discordant symmetry, barely mismatched to embody a spirit of perfect imperfection. Highlights included a gold and opal serpent ring, a diamond crucifix pendant with colored stones, and drop earrings with a rainbow of stones falling down towards the wearer’s shoulder.
The sky and heavens above served as muse for Chaumet’s 2019 High Jewelry collection, “Les Ciels des Chaumet,” which found inspiration in things like the swirling suns of Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings and Stéphane Mallarmé’s poem, Winter Sun. Divided into four sections, “Les Caprices du Ciel” highlighted the power of lightning against delicate clouds, seen in pieces like the yellow and purple hued stones of a Lueurs d’Orage necklace. While “Les Habitants du Ciel” celebrated the energy of birds flying high, “Les Courleurs du Ciel” embodied the radiant sun. And finally, with “Les Fulgrurances du Ciel,” the spectral journey of the falling star came earth side—seen in pieces like the Étoiles Étoiles designs, which looked to paintings like The Starry Night to help create extravagant diamond and white gold designs that glitter brighter than the milky way.
