When Jewelry Bets on Versatility
Reflecting our era of constant emulation where a single object must adapt to multiple lives and desires, jewelry is rediscovering this ancient tradition of intelligent craftsmanship. Thanks to this, adornments could be disassembled, reassembled, and adjusted to the rhythm of the day and grand receptions.
Houses are reconnecting with the concept of a polyphonic jewel, conceived as mobile architecture: a necklace becomes a sautoir, a brooch transforms into a pendant, a motif detaches to become a ring, elements interchange like modules. /public-objects/d4359b39-37b4-4f72-b899-d86714c4910c-4f176e60-89da-4c88-8e1a-db339e8f87d3-GEM-T%20-%20Photos%20-%20Substack-4.webp Image sélectionnée Chanel provides several examples with its impressive Wings of Chanel necklace, where wings unfurl around the neck in a jeweled lacework extended by a detachable line of starry diamonds that can be worn as a bracelet. We must also mention its very modern Sprint cuff in carbon fiber and gold set with diamonds, composed of four parts that allow for varied wear ... and thus, varied pleasures. The watchmaker Vacheron Constantin, on the other hand, has introduced colored stones alongside diamonds in the Grand Lady Kalla collection this year. Emeralds, rubies or sapphires, enhanced by white pearls and ornamental stones, adorn a sumptuous jewel comprising a watch entirely set with diamonds, a jewelry piece, a three-row river bracelet, and a sautoir necklace, all transformable. The queen in this field, Van Cleef & Arpels, reveals in the latest opus of its Alhambra collection creations that can be worn in different ways. The rings are reversible, the necklace, long or short, also becomes a bracelet, thanks to a removable element. /public-objects/e6f7b067-80f8-457d-babf-399ad5a34443-5050cdd6-d748-4783-a640-34150c969a8a-GEM-T%20-%20Photos%20-%20Substack-5.webp Image sélectionnée On the occasion of its 60th anniversary, dinh van presents the highly graphic Pavé in a sculptural ring or geometric pendant illuminating a link chain, further proof of the versatility of its contemporary design. At Messika and Akhah, earrings adapt in short or long versions, with lines of diamonds in increasingly jeweled versions. At Maison Heavenly, the rings of Saturn reveal a versatile piece of jewelry expressing the expansion of love. Designers thus play with volumes, secret attachments, pivoting settings and invisible hinges, all clever tricks that allow a single piece to tell multiple stories with the same jewel, imprinting a part of oneself within it.