Chanel Just Unveiled Its Most Opulent Jewelry In 90 Years
With help from Phoebe Bridgers and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Usually, when Phoebe Bridgers talks about the moon, she's singing to a group of crying fans (I am, admittedly, one of them) who are mouthing the words to her "Moon Song." But last week, she could be found talking about astronomy in a not-heart-wrenching context—while wearing Chanel jewelry inspired by the stars.
Standing underneath a crescent moon on a stage in Los Angeles, she introduced the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, who were performing for Chanel’s guests at a dinner celebrating the launch of the 1932 jewelry collection, which is the second one ever released by the brand. The crowd cheered, but the 18-karat Coco Crush earrings and bracelet adorning Bridgers’s earlobes and wrist were beautiful enough that they could have elicited tears (of jealousy).
Related article: Chanel Launches New Beauty Project ‘Comètes Collective’
Phoebe Bridgers at the Chanel dinner to celebrate the 1932 high jewelry collection. Photo: Pat Martin
Chanel
It has been 90 years since Gabrielle Chanel designed Bijoux de Diamants, the first high jewelry collection in history. It was created three years after Black Thursday pushed the world into the Great Depression, and Chanel was determined to create something that could shine through the turmoil. The 50-piece collection was made of white and yellow diamonds set in platinum and yellow gold, with 22 pieces inspired by specific constellations. “Nothing could be better for forgetting the crisis than feasting one’s eyes on beautiful new things,” she said of the collection. And so it feels fitting that in 2022, nearly three years after the entire world stood still for the pandemic, the fashion house she built would respond to our somber times with something just as sumptuous.
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs performing at the Chanel dinner to celebrate the 1932 high jewelry collection. Photo: Pat Martin
Chanel
Like the original Bijoux de Diamants collection, the design of 1932 is harmonized around three symbols: the comet, the moon, and the sun. Chanel muses like Marion Cotillard, Lori Harvey, Greta Lee, and Whitney Peak were in attendance at the West Hollywood celebration, and, like Bridgers, were also layered in pieces from the 1932 collection named after the cosmos.
Maggie Rogers at the Chanel dinner to celebrate the 1932 high jewelry collection. Photo: Pat Martin
Chanel
Singer Maggie Rogers, who also recently graduated from Harvard’s Divinity School, wore five rings from the collection but said the shooting star Comète ear cuff in 18-karat gold was her favorite. On the Chanel black carpet, Rogers mentioned how she felt a kinship with Gabrielle over her affinity for outer space: “[The cosmos] is something that has always resonated with me and is very apparent and present in my musical work.”
Gossip Girl’s Whitney Peak said the collection made her feel like a “superstar” before joking, “I feel like I shouldn’t be wearing it. I don’t know how they let me get away with this!” and then grasping the 1932 Comète Couture necklace in 18-karat gold and diamonds around her neck.
Related article: Whitney Peak Opens Up About ‘Gossip Girl’ 2.0 And What Drives Her As An Actor
Whitney Peak at the Chanel dinner to celebrate the 1932 high jewelry collection. Photo: Pat Martin
While there are 77 pieces in the collection, its signature piece is the Allure Céleste necklace, with round-cut diamonds, an oval sapphire of deep blue, and a weight of 55.5 carats. What makes it extraordinary is its ability to transform: The halos detach to become brooches, and the central row of diamonds becomes a bracelet, converting the necklace into a shorter version. Thirteen other pieces from the 1932 collection also have the ability to transform in a similar manner, allowing the wearer to make new diamond constellations around their wrists and necks.
Related article: Chanel Presents An Olfactory Festival At The Grand Palais Éphémère This December
Guests dining at the Chanel dinner to celebrate the 1932 high jewelry collection. Photo: Pat Martin
Chanel
Many of the pieces were made without clasps, something Gabrielle Chanel openly disliked. “I detest clasps! I’ve done away with clasps! Yet my jewelry is transformable,” she said in an interview in 1932 after the “Bijoux de Diamants” exhibition. She strived to design pieces that offered flexibility to busy women with full lives, and that didn’t impede their freedom. And as the jewelry-spangled guests left their cares behind to dance under a canopy of baby’s breath, it was evident that the new 1932 collection stays true to her vision.
This article originally appeared in Harper's BAZAAR US.