What truly defines luxury? Perhaps it’s something as simple yet fundamental as water. This life-giving resource, the very essence of our planet and the source of all life, served as the inspiration for Claire Choisne, Boucheron’s creative director, for their latest high jewelry collection. This collection, part of Boucheron’s Carte Blanche series, grants Choisne complete creative freedom, and she has consistently pushed the boundaries of jewelry design in these collections.
This year’s collection, aptly titled Or Bleu (Blue Gold), is a poignant ode to the memory of water, specifically drawing upon the raw, powerful, and untamed waters of Iceland, where Choisne embarked on a journey of inspiration. The creative director witnessed the natural splendor of water and translated her impressions of its colors, textures, flows, reflections, and transparencies into 26 high jewelry designs, spanning 14 distinct forms and facets. These pieces capture the essence of nature in a frozen state, immortalizing its beauty.
The collection’s crown jewel, aptly named Waterfall, recreates the cascade and flow of water in the form of a diamond necklace. Measuring an astounding 148 centimeters, the longest piece ever crafted by Boucheron, this white gold and diamond necklace transforms the wearer into a natural feature of rock and stone. A total of 1,816 diamonds of varying sizes are meticulously set into a single articulated length, showcasing Boucheron’s legacy of multi-wear pieces. The necklace can be effortlessly converted into a pair of earrings, adding to its versatility.
The Givre (Frost) suite, a mind-blowing collection, encapsulates water in its transitional state, mimicking icy stalactites in the midst of melting. This suite, comprising a hair jewel, an earring, a shoulder jewel, and a ring, interweaves pearls, mother-of-pearl, and diamonds. The creation of this vision demanded over 691 Akoya pearls of varying sizes but uniform color. To infuse the ring with a sense of flow, a ball-bearing mechanism was incorporated, allowing the pearl elements to hang vertically downwards, regardless of the hand’s position.
Ondes (Waves) captures the essence of a water drop disturbing the surface’s equilibrium. The physics of this phenomenon were meticulously simulated on 3D software to accurately replicate the natural rippling motions, informing the design of a necklace and two rings. Rock crystal, meticulously sculpted and polished, takes the form of thin discs, echoing the appearance of rippling, circular waves. A significant challenge was minimizing the visible metal to preserve the illusion of transparent water. Boucheron seamlessly integrated the white gold mountings into the design, simulating a sense of shadow and depth within the ‘water’. The metal is secured beneath the rock crystal, adding to the illusion’s authenticity. The necklace is adorned with 4,542 round diamonds, each wave’s epicenter accented with a flush bezel-set diamond.
Beyond the clarity and limpidity of water, Choisne drew inspiration from the inky black sand of Iceland’s volcanic beaches, resulting in designs that interpret black sand and inky black water. One such creation is Eau d’Encre, a testament to the artistry of obsidian workmanship. Obsidian, a volcanic glass, poses significant challenges due to its fragility, as it can shatter during manipulation and shaping. However, Boucheron’s mastery in working with this material is evident in this piece.
Sable Noire is another remarkable piece, where Boucheron incorporated an unusual yet familiar material: sand. The house had previously showcased sand in a high jewelry necklace in 2015, but this year, they employed a 3D printing technique, commonly used in automotive and aeronautical industries, to compact black sand. Polymer binder is meticulously sprayed in fine layers, causing the sand grains to adhere and take shape. This compressed sand, with its iridescent grains, forms a durable material. Boucheron transformed this material into a triptych of designs: a necklace with bands of pavé-set round and baguette diamonds, a snow-set diamond cuff bracelet where the sand conceals any metal edges, and pendant earrings where the sand is shaped into briolette drops.
Several designs celebrate the visual phenomena and appearances of water. The Ciel de Glace cuff bracelet, inspired by Iceland’s ice caves sculpted by wind and time, is a breathtaking piece. A base band of white gold, pavé-set with diamonds and a sky-blue gradient of sapphires, serves as the foundation for a single, flawless block of rock crystal, carved with undulating textures. The Iceberg necklace, drawing on the house’s longstanding history of designing jewels with rock crystal and diamonds, presents a stunning garland of droplets. Rock crystal is sandblasted to achieve a matte, frosted effect, while the center droplets showcase diamonds set beneath clear rock crystal. The September ‘Kitsch’ issue of Vogue Singapore is now available online or on newsstands.
