CLAIRE CHOISNE
Boucheron’s creative director tells us about designing a collection inspired by her daughter, maintaining a delicate balance between honouring the French maison’s legacy and fearlessly innovating
How do you balance your creative vision with the house codes of Boucheron?
I do not consider these notions as [being in opposition]. It’s always important for me to pay tribute to the maison’s history, and to stay true to Frédéric Boucheron’s vision. When I started working at Boucheron, I spent a lot of time going through the archives so I could thoroughly understand the philosophy of the maison. What fascinated me was the richness; there seemed to be no desire to synthesise the archives into various aesthetics; it was so varied. Frédéric Boucheron was the first to use rock crystal and mix it with diamonds, which was audacious at the time. Today, we perpetuate this tradition of innovation and daring by maintaining this freedom to create. Preciousness is generally associated with the size of a gem in people’s mind, and the more it shines, the more precious it is. For me, it’s the opposite. High jewellery is about emotions and poetry, and it is our duty to question [what precious means].
What inspired the selection of simple everyday objects in the More is More collection?
As we imagined [conceptualised] the collection during the pandemic, at the time the most precious thing for me was joy. I realised that you usually take it for granted but it’s so important in our lives. I could not take any more constraints; I felt like a rebel, and I wanted my team and I to design whatever made us happy, at scales that made us happy, expressing whatever we wished. I needed colours, extravagant volumes, playfulness in the designs, but also in the way high jewellery [could be worn]. After that, it was quite easy to imagine pieces such as a pocket or a hoodie string. These kinds of pieces show that you can wear your jewellery without transforming your style.
Which Boucheron collection has been most enjoyable for you to design and why?
The one I created to pay tribute to my daughter. She offered me a bouquet of blue hydrangeas on Mother’s Day when she was a little girl; I immortalised this moment by creating the Fleurs Eternelles rings, one of which is made from hydrangea petals, [which is one I wear]. Our dream was to grant eternal life to the beauty and vitality of nature. It took us nearly three years of work to produce nine rings which give the illusion of being flowers which will last forever. We also collaborated with a “petal expert” who did more than 10 years of research on [how to preserve] petals. We then affixed our real petals to the titanium flowers which had themselves been scanned from real flowers. In this collection, we have totally [overhauled] our creation technique : normally we draw, [then produce gouache paintings] that we give to the workshop. During the creative process [for this collection], my creative team didn’t use a single pencil, as we found technical means to achieve our dream: [we used] the scanned image of the real flowers [wrapped] around the finger.
Did you encounter any difficulties during the manufacturing process for the More is More collection?
Tie the Knot was one of the most challenging pieces. We wanted to push back the limits with a gigantic—yet ultralightweight—hair bow in red with black and white stripes. To get to that, we used a material we’d never used before: magnesium, a metal that’s ten times lighter than gold. It naturally possesses an incredible resiliency for its weight, and that is why it is widely used in the aerospace and medical industries. However, it has never been used before in a high jewellery collection. One of the greatest difficulties is that, unlike a gold prong, a magnesium prong is impossible to repair if it breaks while the diamonds are being set. For the Tie the Knot piece, the gem-setting step using magnesium was therefore much more complex than it would have been using gold.
What do you hope to change about the world of high jewellery? How will you do it? At the beginning, I was not sure if people would accept my style, but over the past decade, my designs have slowly gained recognition, and now I am confident I can go forward without fear. It used to be intuition, which has now transformed into a dynamic power—it always pays off. It is our duty to be bold and push the boundaries of high jewellery— and we do. Just like our founder Frédéric Boucheron, we can be pioneers and try new things. As a creative director, I do not want to stay in my comfort zone; I don’t want to hit snooze. I want to continue exploring, innovating, and conveying emotions through my creations.
Tiffany & Co presents the Tiffany Lock Rosé edition, a capsule collection inspired by K-pop power group Blackpink member Rosé. Crafted from 18-karat rose gold and rare pink sapphires, the collection features sleek designs including a lock bracelet, earrings and pendants in small and medium sizes. After debuting at the brand’s Omotesando store in Tokyo, the collection is now available in select locations around the world.
Tiffany & Co Tiffany Lock Rosé edition