Dear Shaded Viewers,
Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit the GUCCI showroom for their debut collection of High Jewelry. The sunlight streamed through the window falling on the diamonds, sapphires, garnets, emeralds, opals and rubies. Historic styles included Rococo, Baroque and Georgian with each stone set as discordant symmetry, mismatched to channel the spirituality of imperfection. Most of the pieces are one of a kind and because GUCCI is GUCCI, some of the cases were already empty with clients wanting to be the first to own some of the 200 unique pieces. The collection is called Hortus Deliciarum and is divided into three themes: a mythical garden of Eden, Arcadia or Xanadu. The second chapter is an ode to the animal kingdom, the strengthof the Lion, the courage and passion of the Tiger and the wiisdom of Ouroboros serpents. Think lions clasping gemstones highlighted in a rainbow-hued Georgiana parure with vivid green, hot-pink, blue and Paraiba tourmaline, bright yellow and violet sapphires, mandarin garnet, and white diamonds. Each animal is surrounded by nature as symbolic flowers, leaves and stars in ornate diamond settings.Finally, there are redefined solitaires with heirloom settings with the colours of a garden in full bloom. It would have been a great pleasure to try on one of the necklaces only imagined in my dreams.
What is important to note is that since November 2015 all gold purchased by GUCCI for jewelry has been certified under the Responsible Jewelry Council Chain of Custody certification scheme in order to help identify the origin and to guarantee verified responsible sources. This is in sync with the brands mission to trace all materials in their supply chain. In addition GUCCI works alongside the Responsible Jewelry Council to enhance the traceability of their diamond supply chain. All diamonds purchased by the brand come from legal sources certified by the Kimberley Process, a program whose mission is to prevent so called ‘conflict’ or ‘blood’ diamonds from entering the market. In the realm of high jewelry the prices are considered quite reasonable with the highest price tag at 800,000 euros.
The GUCCI shop is now open at 16, Place Vendome.
Later,
Diane
