Usage Trends Hard Stones In High End Jewelry:
Diamonds, emeralds, rubies & sapphires– the “big four” precious gems– have held sway over high jewelry for eons. With the newest collection launches from the most celebrated maisons on Place Vendôme in Paris, it can be seen that they continue to rule the roost. Unsurprisingly Royal Blue sapphires, Colombian emeralds & Colored diamonds formed the centerpiece of some of the choicest jewels debuted during Couture Week in Paris this July.
However, times are changing. Some of the trailblazing new jewels incorporated stones that are traditionally designated as semi-precious, hard or ornamental. They are rarely seen in the haute joaillerie universe beyond minimal accents or as playing second fiddle to the big four.
Diamonds allow rutilated quartzes to sparkle, sapphires glow alongside matrix opals, emeralds gleam next to rock crystal … Side by side the gems converse in a dialogue that dances between transparency & opacity, the mineral and the precious, pure colors & shimmering nuances, earth and light.
From onyx to opal, these stones are shaped into smooth cabochons rather than cut in order to reveal their natural beauty. Jewelers expose interesting bands of colors. They play with volumes and the natural textures of the stones. Their unique shape and texture diverge from the sparkle of a faceted gemstone. This divergence together with their fascinating inclusions and vivid hues and natural patterns are galvanizing jewelry houses to break the aesthetic codes of high jewelry in exciting new ways.
Outstanding opals have always commanded extravagant prices and hard-stones have certainly been used in jewelry before now. Semiprecious stones like lapis lazuli, topaz, coral and onyx in particular spawned some spectacular Art Deco designs. What’s happening however, is that these self-deprecating fellows are being harnessed to create startlingly beautiful effects.
Sprightly light designs let the gems to nuzzle up to the skin. Skilled craftsmen design each element to adapt to the contours of the body. Mobility and movement are caveats to these creations.
Online retailers devote categories for affordable jewelry featuring semi precious stones on their websites. Yet, there is nothing semi-precious about this ring in white gold, set with an oval-cabochon-cut black opal weighing 29.40 carats from Australia and brilliant-cut diamonds. The opal mimics a planet, girdled by stars, in the new Les Ciels de Chaumet high jewelry collection.
Les Ciels de Chaumet Passages Ring
Another case in point is the astonishing Aphélie necklace. Its centerpiece is a glowing orb of rutilated quartz shot through with strands of gold. It emits rays of pink diamonds, coral, onyx and morganite.
Cartier Aphélie Necklace
These hard stones in high end Jewelry may lack the grandeur of the ‘big four’ gemstones, but they bring offbeat opacity and wholesome earthiness. They enchant you much like their precious cousins.
Hard stones add drama to the jewels in Bulgari’s Cinemagia collection too. The seducing collection oozes oomph.
The heavy saturation of color and lucent lustre of some hard-stones creates a spectacle that is distinct from that of a faceted gem. They are decidedly delightful in high jewelry in conjunction with the precious ones.
Pomellato’s Armonie Minerali collection which will open in October. It vaunts hard stones in conspicuous combinations in exclusive rings & pendants. The Milanese jewelry maker wants us to open out to a ‘new precious’ featuring never-seen-before blends of exotic minerals.
The new avatar of beauty can be seen in the Penelope’s Dream ring. It is set in the unconventional gem combination of chrysocolla and lapis lazuli with a band of emeralds fusing the two stones.
Pomellato Armonie Minerali ring Penelope’s Dream
Louis Vuitton, Cartier, and Van Cleef & Arpels’ give prominence to quality lapis lazuli in their new high jewelry collections. The stone can instantly invigorate a jewel like none other.
Swiss jeweller de GRISOGONO has always experimented with high jewelry. So much so that Turquoise has achieved synonymy with the brand. Even so, this time around jet-black onyx has been exalted to high jewelry status in The Art of Technicolor collection.
Instead of being polished into cabochons, an unusual new “fancy” cut has been perfected for the de GRISOGONO ring. The inky black onyx is fashioned into perfect cylindrical shapes. They rise like Lilliputian cathedral towers on either sides of an 18 carat oval cut rubellite gemstone. The effect is marvelously perplexing. As if you are uncertain of what you see. You are bound to look closer.
De GRISOGONO Ring
These jewels convey a sentiment far exceeding the intrinsic value of the stones. Although classic jewels set with the choicest precious gemstones will always be appreciated, the new haute joaillerie collections are an affirmation of a growing passion for the unique and the creative.
Or See More Jewelry Articles As Follows:
