Boucheron – The Power Of Couture

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Intricate medals, buttons, and exquisite embroideries. With “History of Style – The Power of Couture” high jewellery collection, Claire Choisne, the Creative Director at Maison Boucheron, embarks on a captivating journey into the couture legacy of Frédéric Boucheron.

Drawing inspiration from ceremonial garments, Claire Choisne ingeniously transforms ceremonial embellishments using the brilliance of rock crystal and diamonds. This enchanting deconstruction unveils 24 high jewellery masterpieces, opening doors to a fresh perspective on couture.

Embodied in the roots of couture

At the heart of Boucheron‘s narrative lies the essence of couture. Louis Boucheron, the father of the Maison’s founder, commenced his journey as a draper in Paris in 1817. As the business evolved, he specialised in silk by 1822. He later expanded to lace, a rare and precious material, in 1837. Growing up amidst this rich environment shaped Frédéric Boucheron’s, born in 1830, approach to jewellery creation. Sharing a common pursuit of delicate, flexible adornment, he tirelessly crafted gold and stones. The result was couture-inspired elements throughout the 19th century. Claire Choisne elaborates, “Bows, knits, grosgrain, pompoms and lace abound in our archives. For this fourth edition of Histoire de Style, I decided to explore the couture theme without the fuss.”

Revolutionising ornamentation

Claire Choisne embraced the ceremonial attire prism to achieve this, offering a bold and unprecedented stylistic interpretation. The paradox of uniformity intrigued the Maison’s Creative Director. This is because an ensemble appearing rigid and radical at first glance unfolds into an array of sophisticated ornaments when dissected. The Creation Studio maintained this approach in crafting the 24 pieces of this collection. “I decided to deconstruct the symbols of power to reappropriate them,” explains Claire Choisne. “This collection is designed like a precious kit that may be worn in many ways, choosing among various elements to create an individual style.”

The crystalline thread

Diverging from the usual opulence, The Power of Couture collection accentuates material uniformity – rock crystal and diamonds – creating a monochrome theme that tempers the baroque essence of traditional gold-tone embellishments while visually lightening the creations. “The difficulty in crafting this collection was to bring the characteristics of the fabric to rigid gold and stones,” notes Claire Choisne. Boucheron’s craftsmen successfully transmuted rock crystal and diamonds into jewellery sets as refined and supple as the rarest silk fabrics. With the 24 designs of “The Power of Couture” collection, Boucheron pioneers a new chapter in high jewellery and fashion history, liberating jewellery from material constraints to showcase its essence and versatility.

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The Collection

médailles

Medals, traditionally close to the heart on the left-hand side of a lapel, find a new interpretation through this circle of 15 pendants. They form a necklace in white gold, rock crystal and diamonds, mixing finesse with force.

To create the pennants that carry the medallions, the Maison’s artisans shaped 15 crystal blocks – each cut to fit the piece – so that their streaks perfectly resemble the grosgrain texture of a ribbon. After cutting the medallions, the craftsmen carve them, one by one, according to the principle of glyptic art, an age-old savoir-faire that consists of manually engraving the crystal in high or low relief. Two medallions edged with diamonds, may be detached from the necklace and worn as brooches on the lapel of a jacket.

A pair of clip earrings and two rings complete the piece, including one set with a D VVS2 diamond of 2.04 carats — number of labour hours: 2,230.

tricot

This necklace looks like a rock crystal knit, reinterpreting the knitwear chevron pattern and reflecting Boucheron’s couture heritage.

To achieve this, the texture of each material was individually sand-blasted and linked on nitinol cables (a nickel and titanium alloy) to form a five-strand choker. Interspersed with diamond-set links, this choker appears to have been knit in rock crystal and is decorated with a button paved with baguette diamonds, round diamonds, and rock crystal. It is adorned with a round D VVS2 diamond of 2.01 carats. A cuff bracelet set with a round DVVS1 diamond of 1.02 carats coordinates with it. Number of labour hours: 1,070.

épaulettes

Historically, epaulettes appear in couture to broaden the shoulders and visually accentuate the build. Here, they become allies of style.

Claire Choisne revisits them in diamond spirals inspired by a headdress crafted in 1902 for Mary De Teck, Princess of Wales.

In white gold paved with diamonds, these epaulettes are like no other: they can transform into a pair of bracelets. The design also appears on a modern white gold tiara set with round diamonds and coordinates with matching ear pendants. Number of labour hours: 960.

noeud

In this jewellery set, Claire Choisne pays tribute to the bow, an emblematic couture element that has stood the test of time. She creates a graphic reinterpretation with a play on texture and light, juxtaposing the matte effect of frosted rock crystal with the sparkle of diamonds to recreate the radiance of the grosgrain ribbon.

The necklace includes 435 frosted baguette-cut rock crystals, each individually hand-cut and fitted into the white gold framework. The edges and interior of the grosgrain bow present diamonds, and they sparkle thanks to a pear-shaped F VVS2 diamond of 4.05 carats. The necklace transforms in six separate ways and features a detachable section that becomes a bracelet. The bow can also transform into a brooch or shoulder adornment. 

Moreover, the central stone may adorn a ring as a solitaire. Two other rings complete the set. One has a pear-shaped D FL type IIA diamond of 5.16 carats, while the other shows a rock crystal and a pear-shaped D VVS1 diamond of 2.50 carats. Number of labour hours: 2,600

col

A ceremonial costume often features a high, rigid, tightly fitting collar that frames the head and symbolizes reason and instinct.

A tiara that the Maison crafted in the 1900s inspired this collar. Here it is from the Instagram account of Claire de Truchis-Lauriston, Boucheron’s Heritage Director:

This majestic piece offers three different possibilities. When worn as it is, it combines a plastron with a choker, wreathing the face with a mesh of gold and light, but the elements may form separate jewels. A pair of earrings asserts the same lace design, highlighted by 662 round diamonds. Number of labour hours: 1,900

boutons

Like a precious punctuation of style, Claire Choisne has created a set of 15 white gold buttons with diamonds and rock crystal. Fastened as hair ornaments, slipped into a buttonhole, or pinned to a necktie, each piece lives independently or combines with others for endless arrangement possibilities.

These contemporary buttons coordinate with a ring, a frosted rock crystal set with a D VVS2 diamond of 4.63 carats and a pair of ear pendants with an adjustable length. Number of labour hours: 120.

aiguillette

The Boucheron studio reinterprets the aiguillette, the braided decoration that adorns ceremonial attires. In this version, the aiguillette is a braided white gold, rock crystal and diamond necklace that offers a variety of styles – for example, by detaching two brooches and a frosted rock crystal bracelet to wear on their own

Classical for its neo-Art Deco shape, yet unique for the way that its rock crystal is shaped, this necklace – set with a round E VVS2 diamond of 2.11 carats – splits into two brooches, including one that perfectly replicates the traditional drape of the aiguillette. The pendants are paved with diamonds covered with rock crystal to increase their sparkle.

A coordinating pair of pendant earrings in diamond-paved rock crystal may be worn long or short. Number of labour hours: 750.

broderies

Here, branch embroideries are borrowed from ceremonial attires to take on the form of the fern, a plant that Frédéric Boucheron adored. Entirely paved with diamonds on a white gold frame, these two leaves appear to have been shaped by the wind. Thanks to an ingenious polyvalent fastening system, they may be worn as brooches to adorn a garment or transform into scintillating hair pieces.

The studio created a white gold and diamond fern tiara and two matching pairs of earrings to complement the look. One asymmetrical pair combines a branch that rises along the ear with a pear-shaped E VVS2 diamond of 1.50 carats. Number of labour hours: 980.