L’Officiel Middle East
Jewellery
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and elevation. This all powerful nature was also showcased by Boucheron in its “26 Vendôme” collection: a radiant lily with crystal petals around a 20 carat yellow diamond, golden wheat studded with diamonds, etc. in a performance masterminded by fashion historian Olivier Saillard. A throwback to when Charles Frederick Worth first used live models to display clothing, the director of the Palais Galliera sent models along the runway for one day only flaunting the jewellery in all its glory. It was all very charmingly Parisian, recalling the customs and traditions of a time when fine jewellery and haute couture were intimately linked. The house of Cartier, meanwhile, presented a remarkable series based on cacti in the Palais de Tokyo. The most famous jeweller in the world, famous for its architectural jewellery, has often explored flora and fauna. A visit to their archives on rue de la Paix is testament to the extraordinary variety of floral motifs designed by the house in the 1930s. A cactus without spikes glimmers with sparkling emerald green in this playful piece. Cartier chose an ephemeral but robust flower to express the inherent duality of all earthly beauty, sometimes sweet, sometimes cruel. The jeweller does with its usual mastery and panache, playing with the geometry, the open-work and the scattered stones of emerald, chrysoprase or carnelian. It’s both glorious and yet meditative. This is serious fantasy, after all.
Photos Roland Bianchini, Jean-Louis Guégan, Pottier, Archives L’Officiel, DR
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1 — “Offrandes d’été” brooch in white gold and diamonds, “La Nature de Chaumet” fine jewellery collection, Chaumet. 2 — “Cactus” bracelet in yellow gold, emerald and diamond, Cartier. 3 — Van Cleef & Arpels jewellery, in “L’Officiel” no. 429-430 in 1957. 4 — Cartier creations, in “L’Officiel” no. 381-382 in 1953. 5 — Cartier necklace, in “L’Officiel” no. 599 in 1973.
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6 — “Blé d’été” ring pave set with diamonds on white gold, “26, Vendôme” collection, Boucheron. 7 — “Fête des moissons” bracelet in yellow gold, with multicoloured and yellow fancy diamonds, “Les Blés de Chanel” collection, Chanel. 8 — Cartier creations, in “L’Officiel” no. 333-334 in 1949. 9 — Chaumet jewellery, in “L’Officiel” no. 648 in 1978.
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