Plume Bloom
Thursday, March 17, 2011 at 6:19PM PHOTOGRAPHY BRUCE ANDERSON / WORDS JOANNE GLASBEY
Coco’s beloved feathered camellia is reimagined with 853 diamonds
Photography: Bruce Anderson, bruceanderson.co.uk
When Gabrielle Chanel launched her first jewellery collection, called Bijoux de Diamants, in 1932, she intepreted her signature camellia, bows, stars and feathers in spectacular diamond designs.
For her, these stones represented ‘the greatest value in the smallest volume’. Coco’s beloved feather theme was the inspiration for Chanel’s high jewellery collection shown at last autumn’s Biennale des Antiquaire, projecting the creative freedom and visionary modernity of the original pieces into fine contemporary styles, like this extraordinary necklace.
The ‘Eventail’ is made of 18-carat white gold, and includes two pear-cut diamonds, 601 white brilliant-cut diamonds, 250 black diamonds, plus a pink sapphire and two fresh water pearls. The piece highlights how the house has reinterpreted Coco Chanel’s designs for a modern age and embraced her creative instinct: ‘My love of things that glitter has inspired me to try to combine elegance and fashion through the medium of jewellery.’ chanel.com