The new Gem Dior collection from Dior Joaillerie casts artfully unordered silhouettes in ribbons of precious metals and bright gems. Creative director of Dior Joaillerie, Victoire de Castellane, has drawn on the house’s history for the fine jewellery and watch collection.
The seven watches and eleven pieces of jewellery are cast in vivid colours inspired by the bold hues of precious minerals. ‘For me, colour in jewellery is very important and I adore using all the stones and colours,’ says de Castellane. ‘For this collection I have used malachite, lapis lazuli, mother-of-pearl and cornaline. There also is some pink opal and tiger’s eye. I have selected stones and coloramas according to what I have found quite naturally. With the colour groups, I played on a multicolor effect but I also thought about colour shadings.’
Colour ripples through both the jewellery and watches in the collection. In the articulated cuff of a yellow gold watch, the bracelet looks back to Christian Dior’s habit of pinning haute couture fabric swatches onto sheets of paper in its blocks of vivid hues. It is a fluidity reflected in the jewellery, where links in rings and bracelets are casually placed and gemstones and diamonds appear to undulate on loops of gold.
The designs were brought to life in Parisian workshops, where the complex requirements of the watch’s bracelet were teased out: ‘When the bracelet is unfolded, everything really must be in balance. For some models, the entire bracelet is composed of offset ornamental stones arranged in succession like strata. All the sides are asymmetrical like they are in nature. It’s a play on a succession of different colour effects.’
The watch juxtaposes a cuff bracelet of malachite, lapis lazuli, carnelian, pink opal and tiger’s eye against an octagonal case and malachite dial for a piece which unites horology with traditional jewellery techniques. ‘To me there is no difference between designing a watch or jewel, I always create very freely. To me a watch is a jewel that gives time,’ adds de Castellane.
