Last week in Paris, Gucci marked a new, scintillating milestone—its first-ever high jewellery collection. Designed with the house’s iconography in mind, Hortus Deliciarum is demarcated into three worlds: Animal Kingdom, Hearts & Arrows, and Solitaires, all seen through the prism of a mythical garden.
The first sees mythological creatures like the Dionysus and Triton twist into gilded cuffs, besieged with diamonds and vivid emerald and sapphires; while a royal Bee perches itself on a multi-finger ring as does an Ouroboros serpent coiled on a 30 carat opal. The same ornate settings and intertwining Rocco, Baroque and Georgian styles are seen in Hearts & Arrows, which pays homage to undying love in all its forms, with sparkling hearts crossed with plume-tipped sagittate arrows, and coming-of-age tiaras. The last encapsulates decadence in singular, striking solitaire rings—think pear-cut coloured gemstones juxtaposed with heirloom settings, and coiled rings enveloping a heart-cut aquamarine or rubellite of over 20 carats.
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With this dazzling debut comes Gucci’s first high jewellery boutique in Paris’ Place Vendôme. This elegantly muted enclave is plush and intimate, flanked by ebonised wood cabinets, antique mirrors and Gucci furniture, almost like a monochromatic Gucci boudoir housing both fine and haute joaillerie.
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And what is a grand launch without a soiree? The Italian luxury brand hosted a private gala dinner at Le Petit Palais with Creative Director, Alessandro Michele and President & CEO, Marco Bizzarri at the heads of the table. Guests included KERING Chairman and CEO, Francois-Henri Pinault, while special performances of the night were courtesy of Gucci’s jewellery ambassador and singer-songwriter, Florence Welch, as well as DJ Louis Chen.
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