In The Flower Garden:
Diamonds in Bloom
Whether in the garden or at the jeweller’s, one can never have enough flowers. Master jewellers have long captured the fleeting beauty of flowers – roses, tulips, lotuses, and more – crafting them in natural diamonds and gems.
From featuring floral elements and motifs to crafting life-like imitations of its original anatomical form, jewellers have moulded flowers
into various shapes, sizes, and colours. Images courtesy of: Narayan Jewellers, Silvia Furmanovich, Devi Jewels, Boucheron
“Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,” wrote Robert Herrick in his poem “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time”. As one of the most abundantly beautiful gifts of nature, flowers have inspired countless poets and writers to use flowers as a metaphor for transient beauty, the passing of time, and the short-lived nature of beautiful things, expressing and reiterating how we lament the loss or withering away of beauty. But what if we could capture a flower at the peak of its blossom, full and bright and lively, and freeze it forever, encrusting it in the most precious of stones? From love, and romance to purity, and innocence, flowers convey more than aesthetic beauty when incorporated in jewellery, a language that has been universal for flowers like tulips, roses, daisies, lotus, and poppies which are found across the world, both in nature and in jewellery cabinets.
It is one thing to feature floral elements and another to replicate a flower as a brooch, necklace, ring, or earring, closest to its original form, with gold and natural diamonds and rubies and emeralds, as best as human hands’ artistry can.
Rose
Roses maybe flowers, but they are also cultural heavyweights for everything beautiful and romantic, as we have long seen in movies, songs, paintings, or jewellery. However, there’s something purely awe-striking about seeing the ethereal form of the rose come alive in precious gems, like in Queen Nazli of Egypt’s diamond rose necklace which featured a miniature bouquet of roses complete with leaves set in platinum, and sparkled with pave-set real diamonds. Dior’s Rose Bagatelle necklace and bracelet with each rose centring a pear-shaped yellow diamond, pavé set with round yellow and white diamonds and round emeralds or Studio Reves’ eclectic rose bracelet in rose cut round diamonds and pink sapphire in 18k white, yellow and rose gold are stunning examples of the fact that when it comes to jewellery, a single rose says more than a dozen.
Tulip
In many parts of the world, tulips are associated with ‘perfect love’ because of their mention in the Persian and Turkish tales about Farhad and Shirin’s legend of love as the flower that bloomed where the lovers’ blood touched the ground. They are also signifiers of elegance and grace, which, given the beauty of a tulip, is no surprise. From Alok Lodha’s Mer Regalia Necklace, gilded in saltwater pearls, with diamond cut shapes like round cut and tulip cut weighing 33.97 carats to Shruti Sushma’s detailed interpretation of the flower in her ruby and natural diamond earrings crafted from 18k gold, the charismatic charm of the tulip also offers creative freedom for jewellery makers.
In many cultures, tulips symbolise ‘perfect love’, elegance and grace, while sunflowers represent loyalty, and longevity,
reflecting the radiant beauty of these vibrant blooms. Images courtesy of: (left) Shruti Sushma; Alok Lodha (right) 64 Facets
Lotus
Perhaps the only flora more common to the global east, specifically South East Asia, than to the rest of the world is the lotus. Grand, sacred, and opulent, it is seen in Hindu God and Goddess Vishnu and Lakshmi’s hand and is a recurring motif in Mughal paintings dating back centuries, signifying spirituality, purity, and divinity. It’s no wonder, then, that Maharani Sita Devi of Baroda, known for her passion for jewels, commissioned Van Cleef & Arpels to craft the most magnificent ‘Hindou necklace’ designed as a series of pavé-set diamond lotus flower leaves with 13 emerald drops totalling to 150 kt. The necklace comes with a set of ear pendants comprising polished octagonal and drop-shaped emeralds each of which suspend a diamond briolette weighing approximately 20 carats. Devi Jewels’ tourmaline ring is an illustration of a more contemporary rendition of the flower, with the tourmaline brilliantly mimicking its pink petals, made even grander by 2.11 kt pave cut natural diamonds while The Gem Palace’s lotus ring is a more layered, 3D rendition of the flower made in 18kt white gold and 3.11 kt of real diamonds.
A flower’s beauty cannot be easily overshadowed, but when crafted right, other forms of foliage, too, can be just as beautiful as the blossom.
Poppy
The dainty poppy flower might be a small wildflower but holds immense cultural significance. After the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century, the land lay devastated, desolate, and infertile. Miraculously, red poppies began to grow around the bodies of fallen soldiers, turning them into symbols of hope and peace. These flowers came to represent the idea that soldiers’ sacrifices were for the greater good. In 1914, too, when World War I ended in Northern France, red poppies were among the first plants to regrow. Poet and soldier Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae’s famous war memorial poem “In Flanders Fields,” and American professor Moina Michael’s response poem, “We Shall Keep the Faith,” officially declared red poppies as a year-round honour for fallen soldiers and icons of remembrance. An exquisite brooch by Indian jeweller Viren Bhagat, featuring carved jade petals, cabochon ruby sepals, and pear-shaped diamond stamens does justice to this mighty, symbolic flora. The circular-cut diamond stem is highlighted by a modified pear-shaped diamond weighing 4.00 carats, all mounted in platinum.
Gild yourself in sparkling botanicals through the ethereal beauty of a blooming garden of natural diamond flowers and foliage. Images courtesy of: (left)
© Sotheby’s Limited, Bhagat; (middle) Cacti earring, Studio Renn; (right) Lierre de Paris Question Mark necklace, paved with diamonds, on white gold, Boucheron.
Foliage
A flower’s beauty cannot be easily overshadowed, but when crafted right, other forms of foliage, too, can be just as beautiful as the blossom. Studio Renn envisioned a lesser-explored plant, the cactus, in its creative and conversation-starting front-back coil Cacti earrings made in 18kt rose gold set with 3.43 kt of diamonds set on the serrated edges. The stately white gold ivy leaves, paved with diamonds by Boucheron, the more restrained clover necklace by Mouwad, or the statement palm ring by Amrapali – there’s no reason why one can’t turn their jewellery box into a dazzling herbarium.
In a world where beauty is often fleeting, floral jewellery offers an ephemeral way to capture and preserve the elegance of nature. Each blossom tells a story, intertwining the delicate charm of flowers with the enduring brilliance of natural diamond jewellery. These intricate designs not only adorn but also remind us of the profound connection between nature and artistry.
Each blossom tells a story, intertwining the delicate charm of flowers with the enduring brilliance of natural diamond jewellery.
