Chanel has never offered a fine jewelry set so rich in extremely rare gemstones. Dedicated to sports, peppered with fun technical finds such as hairspray or a “sports cord” for luxury sweaters, the 2024 collection is a success.
The color of the center stone, a 14.73-carat tsavorite garnet, is halfway between pistachio green and water mint. It pops like sour candy on a ring paved with diamonds. Two apricot-colored claws, mandarin garnets mounted on orange aluminum, add even more pizzazz. The color match is perfect. Jewelry is a concentrate of joy. A second ring offers an exact opposite combination. This time the center stone is a 30.67-carat mandarin garnet in a cheerful orange. It is set between a double line of green lacquer that itself crosses a pavement of diamonds.
Of course, the large, more traditional stones of high jewellery are also present. A 10.24-carat Colombian emerald, a 35.10-carat rectangular sapphire, a perfectly pure colour D diamond, the most beautiful there is, of 5.09 carats, a 7.56-carat ruby are mounted on magnificent rings. Never before have so many rare stones been brought together in a Chanel collection. It is clear that the 2024 vintage will be a milestone, not only in the history of the house, but also in that of Place Vendôme. “The quality of precious stones is one of the key elements in the high jewellery positioning of a house like ours,” explains Frédéric Grangié, President of Chanel Jewellery.
One of the prides is the set of five exceptional sapphires mounted on a necklace, two rings and a pair of earrings. They all come from the legendary mines of Kashmir. On each of them, the blue is evenly distributed in the stone with this very slightly cloudy veil that gives the cashmere sapphires this unparalleled softness. “We bought the first one five years ago,” explains Frédéric Grangié. “We discovered the others little by little and this year we decided to use them on an ornament.” Taking the time to buy, admire and assemble the stones, even if the selection process takes years, is one of the great secrets of fine jewelry.
Chanel’s 2024 high jewellery collection is inspired by a theme dear to its creator: sport. More than a century ago, even before the First World War, it was one of Gabrielle Chanel’s requirements. ‘In 1914’, she told Paul Morand, ‘there were no sports dresses. Women attended sports like the ladies of Hénin attended tournaments. They had a very low belt, chained to the hips, to the legs, everywhere…’ In 1913, in 1914. In his fashion boutique in Deauville, Chanel already offered, in addition to hats, sportswear for women on the move. The movement accelerated with the war. Women replaced men who went to the front. They therefore needed more comfortable clothing. In 1921, the Chanel house on the rue Cambon presented itself on its business cards with these two words: “Couture Sport”. Gabrielle played golf, tennis and rode horses. Her contemporaries imitated her. In 2024, the house’s sports offering will be infinitely more valuable.
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One of the most successful proposals is the “sweater” line. It refers to American sportswear that has become a classic in every wardrobe. In the hooded version, the sweater usually has cords that allow the hood to be tightened. For the jewelry version of this cord, Chanel has designed a special flexible tube. It is called “sports cord” and is made of platinum, white or yellow gold. Both ends emerge from the central part of a chain or two ear designs. The two most special cords are decorated with eleven perfect emeralds weighing 37.18 carats. They are removable and can be worn as earrings.
Another technical innovation. At least in fine jewellery. The use of a material that Gabrielle Chanel loved: lacquer. Born in China and Japan, it comes from the sap of ‘Rhus vernicifera’. This sap, heated, coloured and filtered several times, is applied in successive layers to wood or metal, offering an exceptional shine and extreme hardness. At the end of the 17th century, the Chinese exported to India huge lacquer panels mounted as screens. From the Portuguese counters on the Coromandel coast, they left for Europe, where they would become the symbol of the rarest luxury. Marie-Antoinette loved it. Gabrielle Chanel too. Lacquer is at the heart of the 2024 high jewellery collection. It enhances the brilliance of diamonds. On a ring, the logo of the house’s most famous perfume, the legendary N°5. Green, it enhances emeralds. Blue, it streaks the diamond-paved band of an extraordinary ring. The center stone is a 16.63 carat cardinal red spinel. Its color is exactly that of the famous Black Prince ruby, a spinel in the center of the Imperial Crown of England. It is perhaps the most fascinating jewel of this successful collection.
