Gucci’s Hortus Deliciarum

Alessandro Michele personally selected unique gems to express his poetic vision and design Gucci’s first high jewellery collection, Hortus Deliciarum.

Hortus Deliciarumis a collection that evokes Michele’s eclectic inspiration, picking up motifs dear to Gucci’s iconografic style and that are famous all over the world.

The collection includes two-hundred jewels, mainly one-off pieces, and evolves around three main themes viewed through the prism of a mythical garden.

Every gem is set in an inimitable way, to express what Michele defines a “discordant symmetry”: that light flaw that personifies imperfection’s spiritual side.

The first theme pays homage to eternal love’s classic emblems. The second theme is an ode to the majesty of the animal world and evokes the mythical bestiaireand antique fauna. The third theme is dedicated to the solitaire ring, reinterpreted according to a flamboyant allure.

The Hortus Deliciarum collection will find its place at Gucci’s new boutique, in Place Vendôme, Paris. A boutique that has been studied to give maximum splendour to the jewels’ lively glare. 

The Latin word “hortus” means “garden” and it recalls the beautiful enclosed spaces in Roman villas. Today, this garden flourishes with coloured precious gems: honey-hued imperial topazes, pinkish topazes, green tourmalines, mandarin garnets, white diamonds, blue and pink sapphires, iridescent opals and yellow beryls.

The boutique setting complements and counter-balances the colour extravagance: the new Parisian boutique was designed to make jewels the absolute protagonists. A refined and sober space defined by its ebony vitrines entirely dressed in aqua-green velvet and adorned with antique-style mirrors. Details in brass and the monochromatic floor with mosaics in Black Marquina and White Thassos marbles express the perfect contrast.

Gucci’s new high jewellery collection confirms the brand’s commitment to metals and gems responsible sourcing.

Since 2015, all the gold acquired by Gucci is certified by the Responsible Jewellery Council Chain of Custody and purchased under the “Kering Responsible Gold Framework” – an agreement signed to find an innovative and practical solution that allows purchasing gold in a traceable and sustainable way.

This agreement is also valuable thanks to a financial mechanism that directly supports those small mines through a dedicated fund. Last but not least, all the diamonds Gucci use in their collection come from the Kimberley Process’ legally certified sources, thus avoiding the infamous “blood diamonds”. CC