From black sand bangles to Cartier’s new flexible Love bracelet: Luxurious accessories you can’t ignore
Fashion brands and jewellers alike are offering enticing new creations
[SINGAPORE] The top names in luxury have recently released new additions to their collections and they sure are tempting. From the graceful pieces at Fred and Dior to bold creations from Boucheron and new interpretations of beloved icons – courtesy of Cartier and Chanel – there is something for everyone.
Here’s a look at what you could be splurging on:
Fred
The French jeweller’s new additions to its Chance Infinie collection see the original’s lemniscate motif appearing as a ribbon with untied ends, unfurling into a delicate bow. The latest design sports pave diamonds, with a pear-shaped sparkler at its centre.
A total of nine new creations are available, including three high jewellery pieces, across necklaces, rings and earrings in pink or white gold. These are charming and very feminine options to add to your jewellery box.
Boucheron
You’ve got to hand it to boundary-pushing creative director Claire Choisne for coming up with the most jaw-dropping innovations in jewellery. Her latest endeavour is such a fascinating, artistic and mesmerising creation, you simply cannot look away.
We’re talking about the Quatre Sand Cuff, a seven-piece bracelet set made of gold and yes, black sand. Using state-of-the art 3D-printing technology, polymer binder was precision-sprayed onto the sand in successive layers barely a millimetre thick, so the sand grains adhere to each other as if glued.
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Not only does this result in a hard-wearing product that retains the material’s natural texture, the cuffs reproduce the precision edges of Quatre’s signature Clous de Paris pattern.
The black sand component is then mounted onto the gold structural bangle – sans any encapsulation or metal edges, so your eye is not distracted from the gorgeous and mysterious material. This is clearly for the bold who appreciate Choisne’s distinct aesthetic – and who probably want to keep it for themselves.
Dior
This week, the French brand launched its Couture Dior collection, with three new creations inspired by the delicacy of haute couture’s lace. The Dentelle necklace is a choker with Victorian aesthetics – a central lace motif made of pink gold and diamonds is connected on each end to black velvet straps.
A pair of chandelier earrings and a ring in a matching filigree complete the romantic set, where floral shapes are set with marquise and brillant-cut diamonds, reflecting the maison’s enduring love affair with flowers and gardens.
Van Cleef & Arpels
Speaking of flowers, there are new blooms over at Van Cleef & Arpels as well. The Flowerlace collection is a light and airy interpretation that sketches the outline of an openwork corolla. The round and curved petals are formed with ribbons of yellow gold, while the pistil is created with golden beads and diamonds.
Pick from five pieces in this new line – a ring, a between-the-finger ring, earrings, a pendant, and a clip pendant that can be worn in two different ways.
Bvlgari
The year of the Snake isn’t over yet, and the Italian jeweller is making the most of the rest of it with four new additions to its Serpenti collection. A necklace, a single-coil bracelet and a brooch in rose gold and diamonds have recently been introduced, along with a special edition necklace decorated with rubies and diamonds.
They’re all crafted using Bvlgar’s “pallini” method – where tiny gold beads are soldered onto a flexible central core to create a fluid and tactile coil. The technique, created in the mid-1950s, now elevates these fine jewellery pieces with dynamism and a fabulously luxuriant texture.
Cartier
Created back in 1969, Cartier’s cuff bracelet, punctuated and secured by screws, is one of the most recognisable pieces of jewellery in existence.
And now, the enduring Love bracelet – so-named because it takes two to secure the screws – has finally been joined by a supple version that’s apparently taking the market by storm.
Love Unlimited is flexible and more radiant thanks to multiple gadrooned links, interspersed with hand-polished screws. To make the piece easier to put on and take off, Cartier has created an invisible clasp system which also allows the wearer to connect it seamlessly to another bracelet for looping around the wrist.
Love Unlimited comes in white, yellow and rose gold and is also available as a ring – which, for now, remains rigid. Prices start at S$13,000 for a bracelet and S$3,700 for a ring.
Chanel
Still on bracelets and new versions of iconic designs, Chanel has just launched the Premiere Galon watch, the latest iteration of the maison’s first timepiece, the Premiere. A black lacquered dial sits within the original 1987 creation’s octagonal-shaped case – inspired by the stopper of the iconic Chanel N°5 perfume bottle.
But instead of a chain bracelet interwoven with a leather band (adopted from the strap of Chanel’s quilted bag), the Premiere Galon is secured with a yellow gold bangle in the style of a twisted braid – another familiar motif used as trims in the maison’s suits.
You can select from the Premiere Galon as it is, or dressed up with diamonds – including an ultra-precious version with the gemstone covering the entirety of its dial.
Lee Hwa
This month marks 55 years since the home-grown jeweller was born. From a modest goldsmith shop in Circuit Road, it has gone on to achieve several milestones, including launching the white gold line Destinee in 1996, the world’s first purple gold in 2000 and the Imperial Gold collection featuring 999 pure gold this year.
Along with its anniversary, Lee Hwa is celebrating SG60 with the recent introduction of its Heritage Collection. Featured as part of the collection are two designs in purple gold – a world-first created from 19-karat solid gold that is recognised by the World Gold Council as a precious metal.
The Purple Gold Vanda Collection presents the national flower, Vanda Miss Joaquim, as a white gold and diamond orchid pendant with purple petals. There is also an option of the pendant accompanied by a smaller diamond orchid.
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