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The Château de Versailles, the icon of luxury and the French art of living, is a Dior destination par excellence. Versailles is today the origin of the inspiration that led Victoire de Castellane to design her latest High Jewellery collection: Dior à Versailles.
Marie Antoinette’s lightness, the sensual, rebellious and curvy Rococo style, the Salons full of ladies and noblemen dancing endlessly at the warm lights of candelabra.
All is there in the graphic design of jewels whose gemstones reflect warm rays (yellow diamonds), the colours of Royalty (sapphires and rubies) and the delicate tones of the boudoirs’ tapestries (pink sapphires), all surrounded by the white diamonds’ pure splendour.
On beholding the diamond drop necklace, one might recall a crystal tassel from a chandelier; further along, an earring evokes a curtain tieback in the royal apartments.
Elsewhere, a bow seems to have escaped from the detail work on typically rocaille, or Rococo-style, furniture.
Other details evoke the woodwork in the Hall of Mirrors, candelabras and mirror frames, or the graphic arrangement of parquetry.
In playfully recasting these elements, Victoire de Castellane invites us to revisit Versailles, magnifying glass in hand, in an intimate journey to better appreciate its graphic and ornamental aspects:
I tried to imagine Versailles by night, with its interior illuminated by candelight that made gemstones sparkle. The women are bejeweled, and if you listen closely you can almost hear the chime of silverware on porcelain!
The oxidized silver used on certain settings lends depth to the jewel and conveys a mystery directly inspired by the 18th century jewellery making techniques.
Rose-cut and briolette diamonds contrast with more modern baguette diamonds and white gold, while purely Rococo garlands entwine calibrated, geometric diamond necklaces.
Throughout, both the classicism and the ornate decorations of Versailles engage in a dialogue with contemporary lines, redesigning motifs and bringing back the music, the colours, the laughter and the light playfulness of bygone times. CC
Material courtesy of Dior