The 11 Most Spectacular High Jewelry Creations from Paris Couture

While the twice-yearly haute couture fashion shows in Paris may cause the most buzz, January and July are also when the world’s most exclusive high jewelry houses and artisanal jewelers reveal their latest one-of-a-kind creations at the prestigious Place Vendôme. Employing whimsical storytelling, imaginative designs, and a plethora of precious stones, these are the standout pieces and trends from the haute joaillerie presentations this week.

De Beers’s Knysa Chameleon ring includes a fancy deep brownish yellow 1.5-carat, oval-shape diamond. Photo: Courtesy of De Beers

1. The Portraits of Nature high jewelry collection by De Beers is inspired by the intrinsic beauty of the natural world. The mix of polished and rough fancy colored diamonds are the most extraordinary, including this Krysna Chameleon cocktail ring, which features a 1.5-carat fancy deep yellow diamond surrounded by baguette white diamonds and petals of brown, yellow, and green diamonds. debeers.com

Detail of a necklace from Cartier’s Magnitude high jewelry collection with a yellow sapphire and lapis lazuli. Photo: Courtesy of Cartier

2. The latest high jewelry collection by Cartier is all about juxtapositions with unusual combinations of precious stones and ornamental hard stones like lapis lazuli, imperial topaz, black sapphire, and blue and gray-green jade. This showstopping necklace, for example, features a 15.48-carat Sri Lankan yellow sapphire surrounded by a cosmic web of lapis lazuli beads and a sprinkling of yellow, orange, and white diamonds. cartier.com

A 18K-white-gold ear cuff from Ana Khouri’s Harmony collection with hanging diamond briolettes. Photo: Courtesy of Ana Khouri

3. With a background in fine art, the buzzy New York designer Ana Khouri has made waves in the jewelry world with her sculptural, cutting-edge approach. (Khouri was recently named one of Galerie’s Creative Minds.) In Paris, she presented her Harmony collection, which includes a stunning ear cuff crafted with 18K white gold and dripping with briolette-shaped diamonds that sits perfectly along the ear. anakhouri.com

Lion-bejeweled earrings from Gucci’s Hortus Deliciarum collection. Photo: Courtesy of Gucci

4. Gucci is the latest brand to debut its wares at the Place Vendôme with the launch of a small boutique at No. 16 Place Vendôme. There, visitors saw both fine jewelry and its first high jewelry collection. Dubbed Hortus Deliciarum, or Garden of Delights, the 200-piece collection, spearheaded by creative director Alessandro Michele, features three magical worlds: Animal Kingdom, Hearts & Arrows, and Solitaires—all seen through the prism of a mythical garden. Like everything else he conceives, Michele is directly involved in the create process, even picking the exact gemstones himself. gucci.com

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David Yurman’s Artist Series necklace and earrings set with exquisite turquoise stones and pavé rubies. Photo: Courtesy of David Yurman

5. David Yurman and his son, Evan, spotlight the beauty of natural stones with their Artist Series. Drawing on David’s background as a sculptor, each piece begins with a gouache, which then guides the team of master artisans. To create this one-of-a-kind necklace and matching earrings, the Yurmans spent years hand selecting the perfect turquoise stones from around the world, which are then enhanced with pavé rubies. davidyurman.com

The Balcone clip from the Romeo & Juliet collection by Van Cleef & Arpels depicts the scene of the star-crossed lovers’ first kiss. Photo: Courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels

6. The Paris-based jewelry house Van Cleef and Arpels has reinterpreted Shakespeare’s romantic story with a dazzling 100-piece collection titled Romeo & Juliet. Here, the story comes to life in a whimsical imagining of the lovers’ balcony with cascading vines crafted in emeralds and diamonds. vancleefarpels.com

A watch from Graff’s Threads collection has pavé stones latticed together. Photo: Courtesy of Graff

7. Along with a selection of some of the house’s most extraordinary stones and rare-colored gems, Graff proves that timepieces can be considered jewels in their own right. This striking watch from its new Threads collection features a web of rectangular diamond bars totaling 5.85 carats. graff.com

The Blé Maria brooch, part of Chanel’s Le Paris Russe de Chanel collection, channels the splendor of imperial Russia. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel

8. Chanel took inspiration from old-world Russia in an ode to Coco Chanel’s liaison with Russia’s Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, the cousin of Czar Nicolas II, who was sent into exile following the murder of Rasputin. The 69-piece collection, dubbed Le Paris Russe de Chanel, celebrates the lost splendor of the country through the lens of Coco Chanel, with allusions to military orders as well as Russian folklore and richly colored fabrics. Here, the diamonds, sapphires, spinels, and tourmalines found on the Ble Maria brooch are inspired by Russian decorative arts. chanel.com

Louis Vuitton’s Royaume choker is inspired by a medieval gorget, a piece of armor that would protect a knight’s throat. Photo: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

9. Louis Vuitton pays homage to powerful medieval heroines for its high jewelry collection. This stunning Royaume choker, featuring a 19.31-carat royal blue sapphire sitting within a web of 1,600 diamonds, recalls both the architectural lines from a fortress and mimics the shape of a gorget, a special piece of armor that was designed to protect the throat. us.louisvuitton.com

Chaumet’s Soleil de Minuit brooch with red spinel and mandarin garnets evokes the sun. Photo: Courtesy of Chaumet

10. Chaumet’s 88-piece collection, dubbed the Ciels of Chaumet, recalls the shapes and colors of the sky. Here, a dramatic brooch in white and rose gold is set with an oval-cut red spinel weighing 5.38 carats, a briolette-cut Mandarin garnet weighing 4.77 carats, and a range of yellow sapphires, mandarin garnets, and brilliant-cut diamonds. chaumet.com

Anna Hu Rachmaninov bracelet. Photo: Courtesy of Anna Hu

11. Informed by her background as a classically trained cellist, Taiwan-born Anna Hu‘s latest collection, titled Silk Road Music, is inspired by the music and culture from the most ancient route in the world. This lyrical Rachmaninov bracelet is inspired by the Russian composer and the architecture of St. Basil’s cathedral and features a kaleidoscope of rare gemstones. annahu.com