JEWEL PURPOSE From watches to rings to curios – our edit of the latest exquisite pieces to take a shine to.
From watches to rings to curios – our edit of the latest exquisite pieces to take a shine to.
1. Desert treasure
In the plant world, cacti are considered resilient, but when they transmute into jewellery, as imagined by Cartier, they transcend time. Cast in gold, these pieces with precious prickles will outlast trends and stand up to the boldest wardrobe. Exotic, wild and somewhat otherworldly, they’re everything we want to embody this season. CARTIER GOLD BRACELET SET WITH LAPIS LAZULI AND DIAMONDS, $109,000, AND GOLD NECKLACE SET WITH LAPIS LAZULI AND DIAMONDS, $52,500.
2. HIT SINGLE
Think 80s party, think disco, think drama. With your hair flicked over and away from the side of your face, let earpieces climb up your lobe for maximum statement.
3. Blushing deeply
The search for rarity in fine jewellery hass spurred on the most colourful of adventures. Well, you don’t want everyone to have the same sparkler as you, do you? Here in Australia, the Argyle Diamond Mine – which specialises in the deep, vibrantly pink variety, and is celebrating 30 years of operation this year – is the only place in the world where pink diamonds can reliably be found.
4. BUILDING A LEGACY
Diamonds are forever – and so are coloured stones and watches. Start a collection by selecting jewelled pieces that will last.
5. Precious nature
A bountiful 34.96 carats of round, 23.70 carats of marquise and 1.07 carats of pear diamonds make up this cuff from Tiffany & Co.’s Blue Book collection, but forget the maths. The platinum creation’s exquisite curlicues come from the disordered ramblings of nature and the curves of a fern and, like nature, it’s pure untamed beauty.
6. INTO THE WILD
It was said that Jeanne Toussaint, creative director of Cartier from 1933 to 1970, hung wild animal prints around her home, and Louis Cartier dubbed her “la panthère” for her bold yet elegant choices – a style that has since come to define the brand.
7. HOT UNDER THE COLLAR
It’s back to the 90s – both the 1990s and the 1890s, to be precise. While the decade from the 20th century is synonymous in fashion speak with grunge and casual chic, the 19th-century version had chokers worn by royalty and fashion-forward aristocrats.
8. STAR BRIGHT
The modern pioneerp of the ear cuffc is back with shoulder-sweeping glisteners.
9. Modern parure
A matching set is the key to looking pulled together.
10. Body beautiful
With a fashion pedigree of the purest order – Nicolas Ghesquièreera Balenciaga, to be specific – Parisian Charlotte Chesnais is a designer’s designer. She talks to Vogue about her sinuous sculptural pieces that hug the body in ingenious ways. You’ve worked in design in areas other than jewellery. Why did you decide this was the area you wanted to launch your own line in? “Simply because I felt more creative and comfortable; when I design my collection, it doesn’t feel like work. It’s very natural.” How did working with Nicolas Ghesquière help you hone your own aesthetic? “Working alongside Nicolas inf luenced my tastes, of course. It helped me discover more about what design is, the 70s, how to build a collection, how to always push forward in term of research. It was so rich and we always looked for something else every season.” Your pieces explore areas on the body that aren’t usually incorporated into jewellery design. Why? “I was looking for another way to wear jewellery. So I sat in front of the mirror with lots of pieces of metal and started to explore, wrapping my ears and wrists and taking photos. This is how the ‘Bond’ bracelet was born.” You have said that you approach jewellery more like objects than fashion pieces. How do you create jewellery with a life outside of the fashion cycle? “I’ve always loved to put beautiful pieces of jewellery on my coffee table; for me it’s like having a beautiful vase or ashtray. Jewellery is something you can never take off; it can have a sentimental meaning, you can give it to your daughter, have one for a special event … I don’t see this kind of relationship happen with a pair of shoes or a dress.” Are there any particular pieces of jewellery you own or wear that are special to you? “I was super-lucky to receive a beautiful diamond bracelet when my son was born, and I also have few vintage family rings that I often wear. Otherwise I only wear my stuff.” What are you working on next? “I’m showing my new collection in October in Paris and I’m very excited with my very first engagement ring, which some of my friends have already pre-ordered.”
11. SECOND SKIN
Sitting flush on the body, Hermès’s newest high-jewellery pieces draw from the pattern of reptilian scales, meaning this gold necklace, with its cut-outs mimicking exotic crocodile, flashes twice the skin. HERMÈS NECKLACE, $26,775.
12.The big idea
To celebrate 30 years of Dinosaur Designs, its founders Louise Olsen and Stephen Ormandy have released a book, The Art of Dinosaur Designs, documenting their work in publications and their work process. “We wanted to open our studio doors and invite people to see into our space and share some of the inspirations that have brought us to where we are today,” says Olsen. “We’d love readers to walk away with the feeling that anything’s possible when you work with authenticity, love and passion.” Having met at Sydney’s College of Fine Arts as students, along with their original co- founder Liane Rossler, the pair’s book is governed by their artistic background. “We run the company as an art studio and see each piece we create as an individual piece of art,” Olsen says.
13. SILVER SOUL
Of all precious metals, silver – soft, stealthily shiny and flattering on most skin tones – is poised for a comeback.
14. Art pieces
Sarah Gittoes and Robert Sebastian Grynkofki of Sarah & Sebastian found the kinetic movement and free forms of Alexander Calder’s sculptures the perfect inspiration for their new collection, Pendel. For Russian jeweller Katie Kovalenko of new label Kova, the geometric disciplines of Russian abstracta art movement suprematism were enough to spark the creative process. What’s clear? Art and jewellery make ideal bedfellows this season.
15. DROP IN
Consider the drop earring as your jewellery box’s white shirt. Wear this with everything.
17. Back to basics
Think of these pieces as jewellery box staples. Take Bassike, which has applied its concise design tenets to an expertly edited collection of fine jewellery. The seven pieces are made on Sydney’s Northern Beaches and designed to put on and never take off.
18. ICON STATUS
Sydney-based jeweller Tony White has long been the bauble-maker of choice for the cognoscenti (Cate Blanchett has been a client, among others), so his book, Tony White Jeweller, $50, is a natural next step in an illustrious career making bespoke, one-off pieces. “I wanted to be a name, not a brand,” he told Vogue of his dedication to crafting one-of-a-kind pieces. White says that putting the book together was “fascinating, as it revived old memories of past work and people who have passed on”. Now he passes the legacy on to us in tome form.
19. MADE FOR YOU
Montreal-born Justin Bobyn has taken personalisation to the next level. With the presence of monogrammed, bespoke and customised reaching saturation point, the orthopaedic surgeon has crafted jewellery that moulds to the shape of your bones beneath. Sound offkilter? J.Bobyn pieces are – but in a beguilingly minimalistic way. His slim bangles and slightly rough-hewn rings speak to their handmade origins. Go for simple shapes and classic metals. Visit www.justinbobyn.com.
JUSTIN BOBYN RING, $650, AND BRACELET, $250.
20. Flying colours
Bulgari has always relished the chance to elevate the everyday via colour. Here, signature harlequin hues orbit a delicate timepiece, rendering the watch as jewellery.
BULGARI WATCH, $211,000.
21. A PLACE IN TIME
Let your watch do the talking. Jewelled crowns, fanciful wrist straps and detailed faces – pick one or the whole lot.
22. What a pearler
The luminescence of nacre is just as effective whether as a single pearl or a bountiful strand.