One Fine Day: The Shining Gems from Paris Haute Couture Fall 2013
Couture in July is by far my favorite time to be in Paris for work—the sidewalks are filled with people, the sun doesn’t set until around 10 p.m., and summer is in full swing. The Couture show schedule is very civilized, affording me plenty of time to do the rounds at some of the jewelry houses. Here are some of the incredibly glamorous pieces that I saw.
Alexandre Reza: Green is my mother’s favorite color and I owe my obsession with emeralds to her. She had a pair of emerald studs, a gift from my father that she only wore on special occasions. When I saw these at Alexandre Reza I fell in love with the amazing color and cut of the emeralds, which are set off by the surrounding diamonds.
Louis Vuitton: The Louis Vuitton fine jewelry boutique opened last July on Place Vendôme and there you can see not only fantastic jewels but also great art including a ceiling installation by Teresita Fernández. I was immediately drawn to this long necklace because of the opal (which happens to be my birth stone) and white diamonds in white gold, (The blue tint comes from ceramic dust.) I got a preview of some soon to be released pieces by designer Lorenz Bäumer—definitely more to look forward to.
Chanel Fine Jewelry: The new “Sous le Signe du Lion” collection was presented throughout a series of pitch-black rooms where in each box displaying the marvelous collection of jewels also contained a surprise. The lion was a familiar symbol for Coco Chanel throughout her life—she was both a Leo and a resilient creature. This beautiful Lion Mosaïque brooch in white gold set with 989 brilliant cut diamonds to me best represents Chanel’s character and strength.
Dior Fine Jewelry: Victoire de Castellane always puts an interesting and youthful spin on the fashion house’s fine jewelry— elegant but with an element of surprise. Of the many pieces she created I was drawn to these Exquise emerald earrings in white gold with diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, demantoid garnets and Paraiba tourmalines.
Bulgari: To celebrate its new Diva Collection, Bulgari hosted a lavish, star-studded event at the Hôtel Potocki in Paris. Models were draped with jewels; my favorite was a bracelet called “Persian Memories.” The emeralds were originally cylindrical but were later cut in half to better show off their amazing color—the sheer size of them is astonishing. The bracelet contains 6 actual emeralds, 12 emerald beads, spinels, buff top rubies, and pavé diamonds.
Van Cleef & Arpels: The French company held the presentation for “Pierres de Caractère – Variations” at the Musée d’Arts Decoratifs—a perfect venue in which to see beautiful jewels. There were several standout pieces but the one that really caught my eye was a vivid blue-green oval cut tourmaline with round and pear shape diamonds, round sapphires and chrysoprase. The name of the piece is Lotus d’Orient, which is precisely what it reminded me of.
Cindy Chao: This was the first time I ever saw Cindy Chao’s jewelry in Paris and up close, and her Four Seasons collection is an exceptional and true art form. This diamond Maple Leaf Choker is a true celebration of Autumn.
Debeers: The Debeers presentation had a water theme throughout. This cuff bracelet felt like a special piece from the collection that brought to mind subtle waves.
