Graff’s New Heights

A groundbreaking high-jewelry collection, the first chapter of Graffabulous boasts spectacular gem-set pieces.

Graff has revealed its latest high-jewelry collection, Graffabulous. And fabulous it is: This first chapter, The Legend of Mermaids, is impressive in all aspects. Celebrating strong women from ancient mythology, it’s part of a series comprising more than 80 one-of-a-kind high-jewelry pieces, featuring beautifully colored cardinal gemstones (diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires) of a unique rarity in size and hue.

As always with Graff, the main source of inspiration for the collection is the gemstones themselves, and with safes filled with the world’s most precious stones, design director Anne-Eva Geffroy had much to choose from. Graffabulous includes over 3,600 carats of natural gemstones, all from Graff’s private gem collection: 1,877 carats of white diamonds, 678 carats of yellow diamonds, 616 carats of sapphires, 414 carats of emeralds and 101 carats of rubies. This makes the line the most important selection of pieces Graff has produced to date.

Ones to watch
Among the rich variety of spectacular gems, two pieces stand out. The Sublime Nature Goddess of Divinity necklace features a remarkable estate gem — a cushion-cut, 109.35-carat, Sri Lankan sapphire. An unheated gem of this size and color is practically unheard of, making the task of setting it into a mount that honors its size and color a feat of master craftsmanship. The Graff workshop had to create a detailed architectural mount beneath the necklace to portray the qualities of this sapphire at their best. Composed of 114 parts, the setting required true artisanship and technical excellence.

The next showstopper is the Essence of Graff Goddess of The Sea ring, featuring a perfect cushion-cut, 38-carat, white diamond. Not only is its size impressive, but this stone is also a flawless, type IIa gem, the most chemically pure of all diamond types. With excellent polish and symmetry, a diamond of this size and exceptional specs is practically unprecedented. Graff has chosen to showcase this diamond as a single stone in a minimalist four-claw setting, to show off its impeccable color and shape. It is perhaps the simplest design aesthetic in the entire collection, but it evokes complex emotions.

Great form
Constantly pushing the envelope in design technology, Graff has experimented with form and figure to reach new heights. “With Graffabulous we wanted to innovate with new shapes and motifs and present a variety of colorful designs showcasing incredibly precious stones — rubies, sapphires, emeralds and yellow diamonds. Framing the center stones with geometric arrangements of diamonds and layering the different elements within a design brings a wonderful sense of volume to each piece,” Geffroy says.

It is hard to believe this is only the first installment of six chapters of Graffabulous. Collectors are certainly curious to see what the next five will bring.

Main image: Campaign for Graffabulous first chapter collection. Photo: Graff.