CARTIER Grain de Café

From a coffee bean, Cartier has created a solar collection of absolute elegance. Yellow gold creations that combine the glamour of the 1950s French Riviera with the radiant beauty of Grace Kelly. Inspiration drawn from the heart of the Maison’s stylistic vocabulary, based on two cherished elements at Cartier: flora crafted in yellow gold and the ordinary made precious.

The creations in the Grain de Café collection—rings, pendants, earrings and brooches—enhance the skin like summer heat. Arranged in clusters, the coffee beans stir with the slightest movement in a precious rustle. Their sensual curves, studded with fiery diamonds set in white gold, radiate infinite delicacy.

In a luscious interpretation, Cartier studs a ring and a bracelet with rubellite beads. Half-flower, half-fruit, these scattered berries studded with a gold nail or a diamond appear in an assortment of beans, engraved gold hemispheres and diamonds set in platinum. Even more radical, Cartier pulls out all the stops with a necklace made up of two rows of gold beads topped with coffee beans and gold-studded rubellites.

This year, the Maison is also reissuing a necklace originally dating from 1955, in homage to the creative history of Grain de Café and the world of Jeanne Toussaint.

«Grain de Café creates a new preciousness by playing with light, finishes and volumes… The result is a versatile collection with added spirit. A symbol of the creative freedom of the Maison, Grain de Café transcends a literal translation of nature and results in a multi- sensory design
Marie-Laure Cérède, Creative Director of Jewellery and Watchmaking.

Playing with the pendants, multiplying radiance and shimmer: for the jewellers, the objective was to combine mobility and sensuality. The movement of endlessly sparkling clusters. The sensuality of materials that are an invitation to touch. The jewellers have created hollow grains composed of two parts, assembled to avoid impact between them: one part is curved and the other is arched, while the surface is smooth or gadrooned. All the elements are polished one by one thanks to a steel brush that enhances the finish. 30 craftsmen participated in the creation of this collection and more than 60 prototypes were required.

The «coffee bean» motif, which first appeared at Cartier in 1938, was a huge hit in the 1950s and 1960s. Two extraordinary women contributed to its fame: Jeanne Toussaint and Grace Kelly.


Jeanne Toussaint, Creative Director from 1933, was a woman of style. Her intuition was unfailing, and she saw in this motif the wealth of a universe to be explored. Most often made of yellow gold, or sculpted from a noble material such as coral, the first coffee beans were sometimes studded with diamonds or coloured stones.

Grace Kelly, the actress turned Princess with a truly charismatic aura, could not resist this inspiration. It was for her wedding to Prince Rainier III of Monaco that she received a Grain de Café set, which she embraced with the same ease as other Cartier creations, from the most intimate to the most prestigious. She remains the most alluring expression of this creation that links Monaco, the French Riviera and the chic opulence of the 1950s.

To pay tribute to Grace Kelly, the iconic Hollywood star, Cartier turned to American director Alex Prager whose sensitivity resonates with the codes of the collection. Thanks to her work with light, she was able to bring a decisively contemporary tone to the glamorous spirit of the 1950s.

The result? A 45-second trailer in which we follow an elegant and mysterious woman through a sequence of shots. It is the same woman we find at the end of a screening in a cinema, suspended in time where past and present become one.


To play the part of this woman, the Maison called upon the American actress Elle Fanning, whose starring role in Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere earned a Critics’ Choice nomination and launched a career that continues to span genres through both independent and blockbuster productions. A Global Ambassador of the Maison, she is now the face of the Grain de Café collection.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Cartier
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Meet the New Gucci Diana Bag

A bamboo handle tote first presented by the House in 1991 is reimagined by Alessandro Michele in the Gucci Diana. The current iteration is distinguished by removable, neon leather belts—a nod to the functional bands that once came with the original bag to maintain the shape of the handles—the latest expression of the Creative Director’s contemporary approach to archival elements.
Alessandro Michele explores the concept of embodiment in the new line, which is designed to evoke an aesthetic, but also an attitude. At the edge of inspiration, he takes a step beyond in a contemplation on the vast and impactful influence that a person, or perhaps, a persona, has had across generations and cultures.

The Gucci Diana is reflective of a certain era—even its silhouette echoes a moment in which practicality took its rightful place in the wardrobe—but the line maintains its timeless appeal. It represents the notion of style in constant evolution, fitting perfectly into the conventions of sophistication one day and undergoing reinvention the next, speaking to the House’s message of fluidity, freedom, and embracing fashion as a powerful medium of self-expression.

The colour palette is bright, classic and elegant, with the addition of some intriguing, unusual hues. There are seven colours of leather in total across three sizes of bag (medium, small and mini): black, white, a timeless cuir, bright emerald green, striking red, poudre light blue and light rose.

Every Gucci Diana is paired with three matching coloured belts in either fluorescent yellow, pink or orange. Each belt has a functional buckle and features a Gucci script logo in gold metallic film on its outer side. Those who choose a Gucci Diana can also purchase additional leather belts in the three special colours so that they can customise their bags. There is also the option to emboss the leather belts (on the insides) in store with letters and star symbols in a variety of metallic film colours.

The medium Gucci Diana makes an ideal daily bag or working tote on account of its roomy interior and detachable leather shoulder strap. The small size is the perfect everyday bag and also comes with a detachable leather shoulder strap. Finally, the mini bag is a charming everyday companion. The interiors of the leather Gucci Diana bags are lined in beige microfibre.

To add a luxurious dimension, there are versions of the Gucci Diana in precious leathers. A patchwork of multicoloured python creates a graphic model. There are also python styles in black, rock (ecru) and bright emerald green. In crocodile there is a black and a cuir version of the Gucci Diana; and in ostrich it comes in yellow, white, red and bright emerald green.

TO SHOP THE NEW GUCCI DIANA BAGS, CLICK HERE PLEASE.
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LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Gucci, Courtesy of Neil Mockford, Getty and BfA
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Be a MIU-se and Twist With Me

To accompany the launch of MIU MIU‘s newest fragrance TWIST that stars MIU-se Elle Fanning as the face of the campaign, the Italian fashion house has launched a limited edition collection of TWIST WITH ME T-shirts that celebrate the invigorating spirit of the MIU MIU girl.

Available from now in white in MIU MIU stores worldwide for €390, and from May 14th in black exclusively at miumiu.com. Will you Twist in it?!

Sensual and surprising, the new scent capture the quirky spirit of the MIU MIU girl according to her own Miu-d.

Fresh Top Notes: Vert de Bergamot & Apple Blossom
Sensual Heart NotePink Amber Accord
Irresistible Base NotesTonka Bean & Cedar Wood

The new Miu Miu TWIST is available for CHF160 (100ml), CHF110 (50ml) and CHF84 (30ml).

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Miu Miu

Can You Guess What They Have in Common?

Birthday_April_9_Celebrities

Any clue what those icons have in common? They all have their birthday today!

I have been truly amazed when I stumbled upon this fact. Marc Jacobs for example is celebrating his 50th and Jean Paul Belmondo his 80th birthday. Any astrologist among my readers who can explain me this phenomena please? Being born under the sign of aries, they are all creative and fashionable…

1 Jean-Paul Belmondo, French actor; 1933
2 Martin Margiela, Belgian fashion designer; 1957
3 Anna dello Russo, Italian style icon; 1962
4 Marc Jacobs, American fashion designer; 1963
5 Paulina Porizkova, Czech model; 1965
6 Leighton Meester, American actress; 1986
7 Sara Blomqvist, Swedish model; 1989
8 Kristen Stewart, American actress; 1990
9 Elle Fanning, American actress and Rodarte muse; 1998

Happy Birthday, also to Hugh Hefner (1922) and Dennis Quaid (1954)!

LoL, Sandra