10 Head-Turning Diamond Jewellery Pieces at Paris Couture Week
Last week during Paris haute couture week, the action wasn’t just on the catwalks. From Place Vendôme to Hôtel de Crillon, the city was abuzz with wildly creative new high jewellery collections. There was a gigantic diamond hair bow that defied gravity, a diamond rocker chain link collar with a rare pink diamond drop, and a dreamy diamond butterfly that transformed into six different ring styles!
It’s a summer tradition: The first week of July, international press, influencers, and VIP clients descend on Paris to view haute couture and high jewellery. These jewellery collections, which are often years in the making, express a jewellery house’s unbridled creativity, artistry, and craftsmanship, and show off their best and brightest diamonds and gemstones. It’s the highest form of jewellery art.
After making the rounds to more than 20 high jewellery presentations, we selected 10 of the most jaw-dropping pieces. They are big on creativity, personality, and versatility.
Boucheron, Tie the Knot
Claire Choisne dreams big. As Boucheron’s creative director, she’s part designer and part alchemist, and a resolute rule-buster. That boundary-breaking spirit is embodied in “Tie the Knot,” a gigantic diamond bow made with bright red bio acetate, the same ultra-lightweight, yet resilient material used in eyewear. Now, for the first time, it’s been employed in high jewellery along with black magnesium, which is textured to appear like grosgrain ribbon. It’s part of the 30-piece More is More collection of exuberant, playful, and seriously innovative jewellery.
DeBeers, Masterpiece Diamond & Jacket Ring
There’s more to De Beers’ bow ring than meets the eye. At the center is a rare 7.61 carat fancy vivid yellow diamond from the company’s Natural Works of Art collection, surrounded by a sculptural bow ring jacket stretching across three fingers. This versatile masterpiece can be worn in four ways, including a yellow diamond solitaire ring and a bow jacket with a princess-cut diamond band.
Ana Khouri, Pink Diamond Necklace
One of the most valuable pieces in Ana Khouri’s new collection, which debuted at Christie’s Paris, is a rare 5.32 carat fancy intense natural pink diamond. Rather than set the diamond in a classic setting as most jewellers would, the Brazilian native suspended it from a rocker-style chunky diamond chain link choker. It’s a luxe statement that is both stylish and empowering.
Messika, Ultimate Party Collar
Valerie Messika captured the 70s disco era nightlife style in the Midnight Sun collection. And who better as the face of the brand than French singer and model Carla Bruni, whose personal style reflects that glam, sexy period. This high-polished wide choker pays tribute to Liza Minnelli and Diana Ross, icons of the era who are represented by a 20.04 carat pear-cut yellow diamond and a 9.07 carat cushion-cut white diamond.
Elie Top, Diamond Serpent
Elie Top unveiled his striking serpent designs at an intimate dinner party for friends at his Paris studio, which included Marisa Berenson and designer Adriana Abascal. Top’s articulated snakes coil around the wrists and fingers with graphic yellow gold and distressed silver scales and are appointed with exceptional stones, like this 5.85-carat antique old-mine cut diamond. Another take on the serpent is Twist, a new series with interlocking S shapes in twisted gold and silver rings punctuated with diamonds.
Fendi, Triptych Collection
For Fendi’s first high jewellery collection, Delfina Delettrez Fendi, the house’s artistic director of jewellery, fused the rigor of Roman architecture with graphic abstractions and a nod to the natural world. As the fourth generation Fendi family member, Delettrez, who has her own eponymous jewellery label, used a mix of diamond cuts in pieces like this collar, which has two lines of draping round and baguette (a reference to the house’s iconic baguette-shaped handbag) diamonds with a single pear-shaped yellow diamond.
Chaumet, Tulipe Necklace
Established in 1780, Chaumet is long known for its exquisite floral designs. Its newest blooms illustrate the French jeweller’s contemporary spirit. Take the Tulipe necklace, which features a juicy 10.71-carat red spinel surrounded by sculpted leaves of spinels, spessartite garnets, and brilliant-cut diamonds, draped on a modern diamond chain link.
Anna Hu, Papillon du Blanc Ring
It takes a playful imagination and serious technical prowess to create a diamond ring that can be worn six different ways. Anna Hu delivered all that with her butterfly ring featuring a rare 7.03-carat D color marquise diamond centerpiece. Worn alone, the solitaire is surrounded by a ribbon of diamonds, and the removable undulating wings are accentuated with an array of different shaped diamonds set to reflect the light at every angle.
Van Cleef & Arpels, Dea Eterna Clip
The French jeweller took us on the Grand Tour with a colorful collection of jewellery inspired by Europe’s classical monuments but in a distinctly contemporary style. A favorite in the 70-piece collection is the empowering “Dea Eterna” clip, which represents the eternal goddess in a colorful context with carved bright blue lapis lazuli, a pink sapphire, gray cultured pearl, and diamonds. It’s a reminder how travel inspires, educates, and opens our minds.
Pomellato, Sipario
On the 20th anniversary of Vicenza Castaldo’s reign as creative director of Pomellato, the Italian designer created 33 unique pieces that are an ode to the brand’s native Milan. A standout is this sensuous body chain, which drapes varying styles of chains and diamond-set links around the torso in a sparkling web of jewels.
