In the 1930s, Gabrielle Chanel was tasked with transporting a Parisian elegance across the Atlantic. Requested in Hollywood by movie studio United Artists, Chanel was to bring her chic signature designs to the movie industry, lending a glamorous boost to the movie stars, both on and off screen.
With the designer keen to return to Paris, it was a short sojourn, but one with a lasting impact, felt in both the streamlined silhouettes of Chanel’s clothes and the bold designs of her jewellery. It is an era revisited now in a new high jewellery collection, ‘Reach for the Stars’.
Old and new references unite in the pieces, which rework familiar motifs. In her only high jewellery collection in 1932, ‘Bijoux de Diamants’, Chanel celebrated the spiky outline of the star, a symbol she considered ‘eternally modern.’ Here, the comets are lengthened, outlined in gold and onyx on the ‘Blazing Star’ set, while two diamond pendants bring a fluidity to the ‘Dazzling Star’ choker. Transformable jewels, such as the ‘Twin Stars’ necklace, which can become two bracelets and two short necklaces, add another facet.
As well as the comet, Chanel’s much-loved astrological sign, the lion, is also featured here. Drawn with a mane of dazzling stars, and set in a cloud of white and yellow diamonds in the ‘Strong as a Lion’ set, the lion also presents a more sculpted side in the striking ‘Embrace Your Destiny’ necklace.
For the first time, the wings motif is translated into high jewellery, in tribute to Chanel’s philosophy: ‘If you were born without wings, do nothing to prevent them from growing.’ In the ‘Wings of Chanel’ necklace, diamond wings unfold to embrace the curves of the neck, while the asymmetry of the ‘Pretty Wings’ earrings brings a cool modernity.
For Patrice Leguéreau and the Chanel Jewelry Creation Studio, it is a glamorous vision distinctive to Chanel. ‘We wanted to create pieces of jewellery that are illuminated by the rays of the sunset and beyond, with those colours blazing across the horizon. Capturing that magical moment between day and night when high jewellery sparkles on the skin.’
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