Chanel Presents Its New High Jewelry Collection: Reach For The Stars

GLAMOUR ACCORDING TO CHANEL

There is a golden hour that disappears as fleetingly as it appears. That instant when the sky abandons that azure blue to wrap itself in pink and mauve, letting the blazing orange sun sink gently under the thin gold line of the horizon. At this end of the day, the sun’s last rays illuminate faces, caress tanned backs, and instill each movement with soft magic.

It was with this sense of singular, precious and unconditional freedom that Gabrielle Chanel set out to conquer her destiny and bring her vision of glamour to Hollywood. Rejecting the rules of luxury as conventional and ostentatious, she asserted her vision of an independent and determined woman. Her structured gowns with winged details, photogenic fabrics and embroideries that wrap around the body and play with light, evening wear with pure lines that prefer the grace of a supple back rather than a plunging neckline; all reveal a vision of glamour as streamlined as it is sophisticated.

Although Gabrielle Chanel quickly decided to reclaim her freedom, she always kept in mind the essence of American jewelry: an art manifested with diamond cascades, impressive multi-carat cocktail rings and imposing necklaces, proud of its magnificence while celebrating radiance, splendor and glory.

SYMBOLS THAT SHIMMER ON THE SKIN

This golden hour, projected in cinemascope, is the vision of glamour according to CHANEL that inspired Patrice Leguéreau and the CHANEL Jewelry Creation Studio. To quote them: “we wanted to create pieces of jewelry that are illuminated by the rays of the sunset and beyond, with those colors blazing across the horizon. Capturing that magical moment between day and night when High Jewelry sparkles on the skin”. Asserting the paradox, the Reach for the Stars collection combines opulence and lightness, architecture and flexibility. Its monochrome creations, black and white or adorned with flamboyant colored stones, give pride of place to the diamond, while paying tribute to Gabrielle Chanel’s three emblematic symbols: the comet, wings and the lion.

Cascades of gems, chokers, open necklaces, between-the-fingers rings, large brooches, asymmetrical ear pendants, cuffs and tiaras: these sets of jewels, sometimes with imposing volumes, combine audacity, elegance and freedom, creating a true jeweler’s dress code. With this collection, glamour according to CHANEL is an invitation to dare and shine. To rise to the stars.

• THE COMET’S FREEDOM TO SHINE
  

In 1932, for “Bijoux de Diamants”, her first and only High Jewelry collection, Gabrielle Chanel accented her creations with stars, a motif that she considered “eternally modern”¹ and which she associated with the freedom for everyone to believe in their lucky star. With the Reach for the Stars collection, Patrice Leguéreau and the CHANEL Jewelry Creation Studio have reinterpreted it as a symbol of glamour according to CHANEL; lengthening the comets of the Blazing Star set with fine lines of gold and onyx to accentuate the power of their scintillations, adding two diamond pendants to the clasp of the Dazzling Star choker to emphasize the grace of a neckline, transforming between-the-fingers rings into true hand jewels and earrings into celebrations of lightness.

This vision of glamour, as an invitation to rise up and captivate the eye, is translated into precious yet subtle jewelry, like the Dreams Come True necklace inspired by the neckline of a couture dress studded with diamonds and dressed in black, or the masterful Twin Stars necklace that transforms into two bracelets and two short necklaces, one in diamonds studded with comet motifs, the other in five rows of tanzanite beads.

• THE ELEGANCE OF WINGS
  

Echoing one of Gabrielle Chanel’s mottos “If you were born without wings, do nothing to prevent them from growing”², Patrice Leguéreau and the CHANEL Jewelry Creation Studio have interpreted this symbol for the very first time. Crafted with precise attention to articulation points for comfort, flexibility and perfect positioning, often transformable, these openwork jewels are as light as floating lace, ready to land delicately on the skin and embrace the lines of the body. Like the Wings of Chanel necklace whose diamond wings unfold to wrap around the neck; it is set with an exceptional 19.55-carat Padparadscha sapphire whose color is a delicate balance of pink and orange hues.

They extend their precious glow on a long detachable pendant that can also be worn as a bracelet. The ring of this set, featuring an 8.15 carat D-Flawless oval-cut diamond, depicts a wing that seems to barely touch the hand.

Expressing this desire to accompany curves and movements, to breathe with the body, the aerial wings of the Free Move necklace emphasize, depending on the way it is worn, the delicacy of a bare back or that of the neckline. The Pretty Wings asymmetrical earrings are a surprise on every profile and the precious lace of the Full Swing tiara sits on the base of the forehead to gracefully frame the face.

As these winged jewels are inspired by the infinite palette of the sky’s golden hour and glowing dusk, they are set with singular stones: luminous pink sapphires for the Pink Hour necklace, a composition of bright yellow, cognac and orange diamonds for the Sunny Days brooch and a subtle gradation of blues for the myriad tanzanite beads of the After Midnight set.

• THE AUDACITY OF THE LION
  

Gabrielle Chanel’s astrological sign, which she had roaring on the buttons of her suits, became the emblem of CHANEL Haute Joaillerie in 2012. The lion symbolizes both power and elegance. For the Reach for the Stars collection, CHANEL’s Jewelry Creation Studio has imagined two interpretations.

The first shows the feline’s head facing us, its mane surrounded by stars to form a sparkling medallion. The lion imposes its majesty in white gold, set with a cloud of white and yellow diamonds for the Strong as a Lion set, or in yellow gold surrounded by an aura of diamonds for the more stylized version of the Be the One set.

The second, more sculpted interpretation, depicts the feline in profile, perfectly illustrating Gabrielle Chanel’s desire to “express, in a simple way, a personality’s physical aura”3. For example, the glittering ultra-light cascade of the Embrace your Destiny necklace features two profiles with an impressive pairing of pear-shaped diamonds, while the lace of the winged lions in the Sky is the Limit set embraces the neck with a gentle authority.

Glamour according to CHANEL is captured in the last piece of this collection, The Silhouette Clock: standing on a black jade stand that features the famous octagonal dial, Gabrielle Chanel gazes at the sky. Dressed simply in a braid-trimmed jacket and pants, hands in pockets, she looks up to the stars as infinite promises of eternity.

¹ “Obviously, the constellations I’ve scattered in the hair, the comets landing on shoulders followed by a shower of stars, (…) this is all very romantic! But is anything more becoming or more eternally modern?” Gabrielle Chanel in an interview for L’Illustration, 1932

² Gabrielle Chanel, Vogue France, September 1938

³ Gabrielle Chanel, Sud Magazine, November 1932