The Scent of the Century
As the N°5 turns 100 this year, Chanel celebrates with a groundbreaking high jewellery collection dedicated to every facet of the iconic perfume.
Never in the history of haute joaillerie has there been a collection dedicated solely to a perfume. But the house that Coco Chanel built is known for doing things on their own terms. So in honour of the 100th anniversary of the N°5 perfume this year, the Maison is pulling out all the stops to celebrate in the most spectacular fashion: Chanel will conceptualise, design and produce the Collection N°5, an entire high jewellery collection inspired by every facet of the N°5 fragrance. The collection will comprise of 123 extraordinary pieces, each expressing a different facet of the N°5 perfume, from bottle to sillage, to uncover and interpret the eternal mystery, longevity and influence of easily the most famous fragrance in the world (thank you, Miss Monroe).
Introduced in 1921, billed as the first “perfume for women with the scent of a woman”, the Chanel N°5 perfume was concocted by Russian-French perfumer Ernest Beaux and Mademoiselle Gabrielle Chanel herself. The scent became a success in Paris, and eventually, the world over. Then in 1932, Coco Chanel unveiled the “Bijoux de Diamants”, her very first fine jewellery collection of diamonds set in platinum, that introduced new ways of wearing jewellery.
Now in present day 2021, the Collection N°5 traces its roots to those two milestones. “Gabrielle Chanel approached these two universes with the same visionary values, focusing on audacity and the quest for excellence,” says Patrice Leguéreau, director of the Chanel Fine Jewelry Creation Studio. “I wanted to rediscover that creative gesture with this collection, which has been conceived like a journey through the meanderings of the N°5 perfume’s soul, from the architecture of the bottle to the olfactive explosion of the fragrance.”
As a preview of Collection N°5, Chanel recently displayed the 55.55 necklace, a showstopper of a masterpiece featuring a jaw-dropping 55.55-carat custom-cut diamond. The silhouette of the N°5 is unmistakable here, from the stopper and fastener to the bottle, with the emerald cut 55.55-carat D Flawless diamond in dead centre. The necklace is complemented by an18-carat white gold bezel set with 104 round diamonds and 42 baguette diamonds. From design to execution, the 55.55 necklace is an arresting representation of Chanel’s exceptional jewellery making as well as the revolutionary spirit of the Maison’s most iconic fragrance. The 55.55 necklace is on permanent display at Chanel’s Patrimoine at 18 Place Vendôme, Paris.