PARIS — The haute joaillerie collections on display at the Paris couture shows in January were paeans to the beauty of nature in all its various forms.
At Christian Dior, Victoire de Castellane, the house's creative director of fine jewelry, offered up an ode to the blooming kaleidoscope of colors in the gardens at Granville, the family home of Christian Dior on the Normandy coast.
Sometimes the inspiration was literal — think long earrings with leaflike fans of green beryl and peridot that then cascade into paths of precious gem geometries beneath. Other pieces were crafted to evoke moments remembered: the joie de vivre of childhood games, for example, captured in the energy of the Chrysoberyl ring, which has petal-shaped clusters of chrysoberyls, blue-green tourmalines, yellow beryls and pink spinels, all in different cuts, fanned around a pink sapphire.
"The way they are assembled means they come to life," Ms. de Castellane said. "It creates a sense of equilibrium, which means no one color dominates another, so that each has a chance to truly shine."
At Boucheron, the creative director Claire Choisne delved deep into the house archives, specifically from the 1950s, this season, and revived a traditional association with the animal kingdom. The sparkling bestiary of more than 20 creatures on show in the maison included a white diamond and black sapphire-encrusted Swan bracelet, which gracefully took flight around the wearer's wrist; the Pegase cocktail ring of a horse with rich plumed feathered diamond wings; delicate gold droplet earrings, upon which balanced two brightly colored cockatoos; and Hans, the hammered gold cuff of a hedgehog, with rubies for eyes and a diamond for a nose.
One standout piece in the jeweled menagerie was the Khepri à Secret, a name derived from the ancient Egyptian word for a scarab, or beetle. A tap of the silvery wings revealed a secret watch, one of the timepiece conceits in vogue in the 1940s and 1950s.
Several doors down from Boucheron on the Place Vendôme, Chanel also displayed two secret watches — suggesting, perha ps, a comeback for the style — alongside a stylish collection that stemmed from fashions spawned by man's harnessing of Mother Nature for power, beauty and entertainment, specifically the equestrian world beloved by Coco Chanel. The crisscross quilted pattern that she first found on clothing worn by 1920s jockeys and that eventually became synonymous with the house and its 2.55 handbags, was the season's anchor, with 48 pieces in 11 sets reinterpreting the matelassé motif.
The Signature de Saphir necklace, comprising individual squares of square-cut, brilliant-cut, baguette-cut and triangle-cut diamonds in a flowing pavéd tapestry, dazzled delicately with a blue sapphire centerpiece. Packing more punch was the Signature d'Or cuff in yellow gold, with 1,054 intricately set diamonds and a total weight of 43.3 carats.
By contrast De Beers, the newest addition to the haute joaillerie calendar (as it joined only last year), let the sheer size and quality of its diamonds speak for themselves. The treasures of the earth and their place on the bodies of Hollywood's biggest stars was the theme of the collection. A jaw-dropping 70-carat yellow diamond ring took center stage, while big-ticket pieces worn by the likes of Adele and Kate Winslet — with volume as a central design hallmark — added a facet of red-carpet glamor, all the better for luring wealthy clients in town for the couture shows.
