Paris Couture Week was awash with folklore and color. 

Fantastical fairytales

Fairytales were a popular source of inspiration during Paris Couture Week, with Messika delivering the second wave of its Once Upon a Time collection. Tales such as The Little Mermaid and The Snow Queen were interpreted in swishing tails of baguette-cut diamonds and icy pear and marquise combinations.

Meanwhile, Van Cleef & Arpels unveiled Quatre Contes de Grimm, a dramatic and colorful collection inspired by the dark works of those master storytellers, the Brothers Grimm.

Van Cleef & Arpels. Princesse Éos clip in pink and mauve sapphires and diamonds.
Van Cleef & Arpels. Princesse Éos clip in pink and mauve sapphires and diamonds.
Van Cleef and Arpels. Three Feathers white gold, diamond and buff-top sapphire brooch from the Quatre Contes de Grimm collection
Van Cleef and Arpels. Three Feathers white gold, diamond and buff-top sapphire brooch from the Quatre Contes de Grimm collection

De Beers also chose folklore as the core theme of its new Diamond Legends collection, the design of which embraces myths such as that of the sun god Ra, whose power of eternal life was represented on earth in the form of a diamond.

De Beers. Ra white and yellow diamond ring from the Diamond Legends collection.
De Beers. Ra white and yellow diamond ring from the Diamond Legends collection.
New frontiers

As well as reflecting on the archives, jewelers at this season’s Paris Couture Week were breaking new ground. Chaumet presented Tresors d’Afrique, a collection inspired by contemporary African art (particularly the work of Evans Mbugua), while Atelier Swarovski presented its first fine-jewelry lines, made with Fairtrade gold and lab-grown diamonds and gemstones.

Chaumet. Trésors d'Afrique Talismania bracelet.
Chaumet. Talismania bracelet from the Trésors d’Afrique collection in rose gold and ebony set with an 8-carat sugarloaf rubellite

 

The most exciting technological advance was at Boucheron, where artisans had worked with French universities to use MRI scanners to create jewelry-making molds that capture real flowers in astonishing detail. Enlisting the help of a petalist, the scanned blooms were then fixed to rings with a spritz of clear lacquer that preserved the flowers, but still allowed them to feel like the real thing.

Boucheron. Nature Triomphante flower ring with natural petals, set with a jonquille diamond bouquet on titanium.
Boucheron. Nature Triomphante flower ring with natural petals, set with a jonquille diamond bouquet on titanium.
Green gemstones

While white diamonds (yellow diamonds were also popular) remained the stone du jour throughout Paris, when it came to colored stones, there was one shade that appeared again and again. Verdant green gemstones of varying shades and origins lent a fresh edge to jewels or some sparkling foliage to the many floral-inspired designs on show throughout the city.

While classic, top-quality emeralds remained much prized, there was an exploration outside this to include other greenish gems such as tourmalines, chrysoprase, tasvorite, jade, sapphires and malachite at houses including Chanel, Cartier, Dior and Boucheron.

Chanel. Collier Evocation Florale.
Chanel. Collier Evocation Florale.
Cartier Coloratura ring
Cartier Coloratura ring.
Dior. Dentelle Organza ring in white gold, diamonds, tsavorite garnets, emeralds and demantoid garnets.
Dior. Dentelle Organza ring in white gold, diamonds, tsavorite garnets, emeralds and demantoid garnets.
Boucheron. Rivière Art Deco necklace set with chrome tourmalines, malachite and onyx, paved with diamonds, on white gold.
Boucheron. Rivière Art Deco necklace set with chrome tourmalines, malachite and onyx, paved with diamonds, on white gold.
Color, color, color

From the tropical and kaleidoscopic window displays of Chopard and De Grisogono, to the explosion of colored gemstones in Cartier’s aptly named Coloratura collection — inspired by shades from around the globe — Paris was awash with color this Paris Couture Week.

Cartier. Coloratura ring.
Cartier. Coloratura ring.

In typical Dior fashion, the fashion house’s new haute joaillerie collection Dior Dior Dior, inspired by lace, was accentuated with a rainbow of colored gemstones laid out in floral patterns over crochets of gold.

Dior. Dentelle Popeline bracelet in yellow gold, diamonds, tanzanite, purple and pink sapphires, sapphires, tsavorite garnets and rubies.
Dior. Dentelle Popeline bracelet in yellow gold, diamonds, tanzanite, purple and pink sapphires, sapphires, tsavorite garnets and rubies.

Chanel introduced an unexpected chromatic splash to its collections with green and blue enamel, as well as adding dark rhodium plating to gold to make pink gemstones pop.

Chanel. Vibration Minérale yellow gold, diamond and mother of pearl earrings decorated with enamel.
Chanel. Vibration Minérale yellow gold, diamond and mother of pearl earrings decorated with enamel.

And at Piaget, artisans experimented with wood and feather marquetry to create bold jewels with a contemporary edge.

Piaget. Green Aurora rose gold, diamond, green tourmaline and wood marquetry earrings from the Sunlight Escape collection.
Piaget. Green Aurora rose gold, diamond, green tourmaline and wood marquetry earrings from the Sunlight Escape collection.

Main image: Messika. Radiant Firebird white gold, diamond and yellow diamond ring from the Once Upon a Time collection.

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