Sandra‘s Closet

During my recent visit to the 27th Biennale des Antiquaires in Paris, I spotted a wonderful jewelry trend: the Opal is a stone on the rise. Gleaming with all the shades of the rainbow, the colour spectrum that these spectacular gemstones cover is breathtaking. The world’s finest opals originate from the Australian outback. Their constantly changing play of colour is known as “opalising“, and the versatile combination of colors is key to the stones’ enduring appeal.

Dark or light, pale or bright, here are the most opulent new opal jewelry pieces to fall in love with this season:

BOUCHERON Indian Palace Ring
Inspired by the colored pools found on the grounds of ancient Indian palaces, this opal ring from the house’s new Fleur des Indes collection sparkles like the surface of water.

PIAGET Extremely Piaget Cuff Watch
Set with 1,699 brilliant-cut white diamonds that are surrounding an opal dial, this outstanding cuff watch houses a Piaget 56P quartz movement, with no doubt one of the highlights of the 70s-inspired Extremely Piaget collection.

CHAUMET Lumieres d’Eau High Jewelry Ring
The opal as the center stone glistens with a pale, almost iridescent, wash of color and is offset by the intense violet of the sapphires. The white gold cocktail ring is part of the Lumières d’Eau collection and set with a 18.58ct cabochon-cut white opal from Ethiopia, an oval-cut violet sapphire, round violet sapphires and brilliant-cut diamonds.

LOUIS VUITTON Acte V Genesis Earrings
Featuring Australian black opals, star-cut diamonds and sapphires, those earrings belong to the house’s fifth high jewelry collection, so-called Acte V.

CARTIER High Jewelry Royal Bracelet
Cartier is a passionate observer of beauty throughout the world, always hunting for rare, unique stones. Now the house has created a new collection of High Jewelry: the Cartier Royal Collection. Part of it is this breathtaking bracelet in platinum with a 57.95 carat opal from Australia, colored sapphires and brilliant-cut diamonds.

So much beauty in one post… I hope that you have enjoyed looking at it!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of the Brands and © Sandra Bauknecht

During Haute Couture Fashion Week in Paris last week, I was invited by Louis Vuitton to explore the new Haute Joaillerie collection: ACTE V at their newly opened showroom at Place Vendôme. Old sketch books from the house were also on show as well as the high-finished jewels in diamonds and brilliant stones.

V as in the Roman numeral 5 is the leitmotif in the house’s fifth high jewelry collection. V is also the modern ideogram,the Maison’s signature stylised by Gaston-Louis Vuitton during the Art Deco period, in which he was a major player, chairing the Exhibition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts in 1925.

Here are some of the most stunning pieces of the new ACTE V collection, of which each jewel is constructed on the basis of a V:

The Genesis Necklace
The cornerstone of the collection is presenting the V as in the shape of this pixelated gem, a 87.92-carat triangular Australian black opal.
White Gold – 1 Australian Opal: 87,92 cts – 1 Tourmaline: 8,60 cts – 1 Sapphire: 5,07 cts – 2 LV Star Cut Diamonds: 1,04 ct / 1,07 ct – Diamonds

The Genesis Ring
This is another amazing piece of Vuitton’s new High Jewelry collection. The exceptional 20.94-carat blue grey Burmese sapphire was extracted from the Pien Pyit mine in Mogok valley.
White Gold – 1 Burmese sapphire: 20,94 cts – Sapphires: 1,44 ct – Diamonds

Cuff bracelets were the star items of jewelry in the ’20s and for ACTE V, they are crafted with an avante-garde aesthetic transporting the idea of women travelling and breaking free:

The Apotheosis Cuff
White Gold – 1 Tsavorite Grenat: 16,51 cts – Onyx – Diamonds

The Apotheosis Bracelet
White Gold – Diamonds

The Apotheosis Necklace
White Gold – 1 Paraïba Type Tourmaline : 7,93 cts – 1 Emerald: 0,41 ct – Diamonds

The Metamorphosis Necklace
Platinum – 2 Panjshir Emeralds: 5,29 cts / 4,23 cts – Diamonds

Below you can enjoy some exclusive behind the scene photos of the artwork behind such a jewel.

In this collection, Louis Vuitton brings together extraordinary gems discovered after diligent searches the world over. This know-how is crystallised in a ring with a red Tanzanian spinel weighing over 20 carats, boasting a brilliance similar to that of diamonds:

The Metamorphosis Ring
Platinum – 1 Red Spinel: 20,03 cts – Diamonds

With ACTE V, Louis Vuitton pays tribute to outstanding and hard to find stones, their quality criteria and the emotions they arouse. They are the soul of the jewel: at the heart of the piece, they make us dream and indulge in the beauty of their colors.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton and © Sandra Bauknecht