The new High Jewelry collection Coco Avant Chanel is a little story about Coco in her young days, before her arrival in Paris, before Chanel. With 11 jewelry sets, the fashion house pays tribute to the early days of its founder, who went on revolutionize womenswear silhouettes and fashion with her innovative vision, through ribbons and lace, soft pink and grey colors. These couture details have now been transformed into jewelry creations, captured in gold and precious stones and finished with subtle gradations of gray and gold.
The collection’s jeweled ribbons appear loose, draped, wound and tied in ethereal loops, whereas lace is captured in refined, streamlined styles, seemingly inspired by iconic motifs from the Chanel universe and often with asymmetric designs. The 11 jewelry sets, composed of necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings, watches, brooches and headbands, are adorned with morganite, cultured pearls another Chanel signature spinels, moonstones, Padparadscha sapphires and diamonds.
Each set in the collection bears the name of a woman who accompanied, marked or influenced the life of Gabrielle Chanel before 1920. The collection centerpiece could be the “Gabrielle Chanel” necklace, an 18K white gold piece set with a 10.02-karat pear-cut diamond, two round diamonds totaling 0.71 karats, and 1,581 brilliant-cut diamonds totaling 51.22 karats, in a design representing precious lace.
There was Coco Avant Chanel, a new High Jewelry collection illustrating the quest for freedom, the desire for sobriety, and the search for lightness: the fundamentals of Chanel’s style.