Chanel’s Dashing New High Jewelry Has a Sporty Twist
Racy stripes, carbon fiber, and dazzling diamonds come together in energetic designs for the latest Chanel High Jewelry collection
The starting point for Chanel’s fine jewelry collections is founder Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel’s iconic style and spirit, like diamond-covered camélias (her favorite flower), sparkling N°5 pendants (the fragrance she unveiled in 1921), and necklaces woven in threads of gold and diamonds (a nod to her chic tweed suits).
The newest Sport High Jewelry highlights another side of the renegade designer, her sporty side. Yes, she was an athletic woman.
While we have Coco Chanel to thank for the little black dress, quilted bags, and smart tweed suits, she pioneered sportswear long before the term was even coined. In the early 1920s, the ever-practical and fiercely independent designer led an active life, golfing, horseback riding, and skiing (in between scandalous love affairs) and needed suitable clothing. She turned to jersey, a material often used in men’s underwear, to create fluid designs with a newfound freedom of movement. In 1921, she even created a sports atelier, the first of its kind in any couture house.
The designer’s athletic flair inspired the vibrant new Sport High Jewelry that was unveiled in June. It is defined by vibrant lacquer stripes, cleverly transformable pieces, ultralight carbon fiber, and, of course, swaths of natural diamonds.
What makes high jewelry sporty?
Some references are obvious, like the red lacquer chevron stripes on a diamond ring, and others subtle, such as refined, streamlined silhouettes designed to lay more closely to the anatomical reality of the body, in the same way, sportswear does.
In developing the collection, Patrice Leguéreau, director of the Chanel Jewelry Creation Studio, referenced the designer’s sporty, liberating spirit, “which is such an integral part of the house’s history: the elegance of the line and the freedom of movement.”
That sense of movement was achieved with the house’s technical savoir-faire and a mix of precious and high-tech materials, including ultralightweight aluminum and carbon fiber, which makes even a large-scale diamond cuff feel light and easy. There are also quick-release fittings borrowed from sports equipment, like the diamond carabiner in the shape of the numeral five, which attaches to a necklace, earrings, or even a belt buckle, and a necklace’s swivel closure borrowed from Chanel’s iconic 2.55 handbag.
The 80-piece collection has six distinct chapters: Graphic Line features bold diamond rings with colorful center stones (sapphire, spinels, rubies) and striking red or blue lacquer stripes; Chanel Print spells the house’s name in diamond letters playfully arranged in openwork collars and long earrings with black lacquer accents; Quilted 2.55 is a wink to the designer’s famous handbag with openwork X’s assembled in large collars, cuffs, and rings, with pop of red lacquer accents.
The new high jewelry harks back to Coco Chanel’s first-ever diamond collection, Bijoux de Diamant, unveiled in Paris in 1932. That included bright diamond stars and bold expressions, like the five new Icons Collector Star Brooches, each emblazoned with a different diamond pattern, and one with bold blue lacquer stripes. It’s easy to imagine Coco Chanel would have loved the new jewels.
