Dior - New in 2018 : ROSE DES VENTS

From his Granville garden to the eighth arrondissement of Paris and on to far-off lands, the Dior Joaillerie collection Rose des Vents designed by Victoire de Castellane is a journey on the four winds through the history of the House and its founder, containing, as it does, Christian Dior’s lucky star and the rose, his favorite flower.

«I wanted to start from the idea of a little motif pendant. And what is more metaphorical than a medallion?» the Creative Director of Dior Joaillerie asks. Necklaces and bracelets of white gold and mother-of-pearl, of yellow gold and lapis lazuli, turquoise and mother-of-pearl, or else rose gold with onyx and pink opal, as well as two sautoirs in yellow gold with turquoise, lapis lazuli and mother-of-pearl or chrysoprase, mother-of-pearl and pink opal. This year the medallion also comes in pavé diamond versions as well as rose gold with onyx, and the offer has been broadened to include four pendants and five reversible rings.

«Rose des Vents, the wind rose, is also a metaphor for creation,» explains Victoire de Castellane. «Creating is about searching, turning things over, and then finding ones cardinal point and setting off on a journey. Creation is the product of a stationary voyage.» Imbued with this inspiration, and guided by a gouache sketch, the artisan jeweler undertook the first step in creating the jewel, cutting it out by hand in an easily malleable green resin.

Then, using the age-old lost wax technique, the wax was replaced by gold, which was then carefully reworked by the artisan who redefined the jewel’s details. The finish of its edges has been accorded the same careful attention as the lining of a piece of clothing, especially as, in a nod to the rigging familiar to sailors on the open seas, Victoire de Castellane has designed a twisting rope of gold rice grains to encircle the medallion. Whether hard stone side or wind rose side out, whichever the wearer’s movements dictates, the finesse brought to the raised star in yellow, white or rose gold is just as delicate as the selection of stone nuances.

Courtesy of Dior