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Photo: Tiffany & Co.
Tiffany & Co.: The Bird on a Rock
Conceived by visionary mid-century jewellery designer Jean Schlumberger, Tiffany & Co.’s Bird on a Rock design made its first appearance in 1965 as a whimsical diamond-set sculpture perched on a large light-brown topaz.
Symbolic of the house’s twin love of nature and coloured stones, the winged wonder would soon be crafted in various sizes, often in a combination of gold and platinum.
Tiffany & Co. Bird on a Rock brooch-necklace in platinum and yellow gold with diamonds and a cushion-cut blue sapphire. (Photo: Tiffany & Co.)
Each time, it is depicted in the likeness of the original, sitting atop an exceptional, massive gem. Versions have been made from rare natural pearls and yellow diamonds to minerals discovered by Tiffany & Co.’s expedition teams, such as kunzite, morganite, and tanzanite.
No bird is the same, for every piece is assigned to one craftsman who imbues it with its own personality. Typically a brooch that could be worn as a pendant necklace, the motif has recently taken shape as a repeated design on a high jewellery parure.
Bulgari: The serpent
Bulgari High Jewellery Serpenti pink gold bracelet with emeralds and diamonds. (Photo: Bulgari)
Worshipped by many cultures since the dawn of civilisation, the serpent or snake is typically associated with regeneration, fertility and immortality. Regularly depicted in ancient jewellery design and popular during the Art Nouveau period, it was adopted by Bulgari in 1948 as a watch motif that complemented the development of the house’s tubogas (gas pipe) bracelet-making technique — with the head rendered as a dial and its body taking the form of supple gold coils.
Through the decades, the successful Bulgari Serpenti has found fans in celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor and undergone countless rounds of metamorphosis. From timepieces, it has shapeshifted into jewellery creations, constantly alternating between styles and materials.
The explosion in creative expressions was achieved by increasingly radical designs and sophisticated craftsmanship techniques. They include the setting of a secret watch dial into the serpent’s mouth, bracelet construction and flexibility innovations, the use of high-tech ceramic, and technically demanding ways to realise the snake scales with gemstones, enamel or goldwork.
Cartier: The panther
Cartier Panthere Confiante High Jewellery white gold necklace with peridots, ribbed coral beads, diamonds, and onyx. (Photo: Cartier)
Synonymous with Cartier, the mysterious and glamorous panther was born in 1914 as a spotted coat made of diamonds and onyx on a gorgeous wristwatch designed by house muse-jewellery designer Jeanne Toussaint. In the years that ensued, the cat was given a two-dimensional, full-body incarnation on vanity cases, after which it finally became a three-dimensional Cartier watch and jewellery icon as we know it today.
The most famous creations have to be two clip brooches, made for the Duchess of Windsor in the late 1940s, featuring the panther atop an emerald cabochon and blue sapphire cabochon, respectively.
Ever since, the destiny of Cartier and its “panthere” has become inextricably intertwined — with iterations ranging from gem-studded to stone-carved, figurative to graphic, in a wide range of poses and moods spanning playfulness to ferocity to one of serene repose. The feline’s coat pattern inspired even the linked bracelet of the Panthere de Cartier watch released in the 80s.
Boucheron: The peacock feather
Boucheron Plume de Paon anodised titanium necklace and earrings with diamonds, sapphires, tsavorites, and tanzanites. (Photo: Boucheron)
A deep source of inspiration for Boucheron since its birth in 1858, the feather holds great significance for many reasons. While founder Frederic Boucheron had always adored motifs from nature, plumage symbolises life, lightness and freedom — stylistic qualities forming the core of the maison’s DNA.
The son of a draper, Boucheron, came from an era where feathers were extremely popular in Parisian fashion. The ethereal yet extravagant aesthetics of peacock feathers had especially enthralled him.
In recent years, the house debuted a proprietary technique showcasing a unique assembly of diamonds that replicates a real feather’s suppleness. The various parts of the feather have also been articulated with a special system that allows each strand to sway independently.
The Plume de Paon motif appears regularly in Boucheron’s high jewellery collections, with hero pieces taking the form of the Question Mark necklace, an asymmetrical claspless style devised by the man himself in 1879.
Chanel: The lion
Chanel Tweed Lion white and yellow gold brooch with diamonds, rubies, spinel, and spessartite garnets. (Photo: Chanel)
Aside from the camellia, the lion is another venerated house emblem close to Gabrielle Chanel’s heart. The cat is one of the main symbols of Venice, where Mademoiselle Coco nursed her broken heart and rejuvenated her artistic pursuits after the death of her lover, Boy Capel, in 1919.
Representing the courage, strength and flamboyance of the City of the Doges, the Leo also happens to be the zodiac sign of her birthdate, August 19, 1883.
Deeply superstitious and a firm believer in horoscopes, she eventually filled her apartment in Rue Cambon, Paris, with marble or gilt bronze lion objets d’art. The magnificent beast also became a biographical seal on her designs, such as handbag clasps and suit buttons.
Debuting in Chanel fine jewellery in 2012, the symbol — in all its carved or gem-studded glory — has become a prominent and powerful subject in the maison’s annual creations.
Piaget: The rose
Piaget Rose white and rose gold rings. (Photo: Piaget)
This symbol of love has serendipitously come to represent the house of Piaget, echoing the labour of love it took to grow from a small watchmaking workshop founded in 1874 to a force in the modern international horology and jewellery world. The flower’s beauty had featured prominently in the brand’s creations since the 1960s, with credit going to fourth-generation scion and longtime rose fancier Yves Piaget.
He created the 1979 trophy for the Geneva International New Rose Competition and presented the annual winner with a golden rose crafted by Piaget’s workshops. His passion was rewarded in 1982 when the champion, renowned horticulturist Alain Meilland, christened his winning hybrid pink peony-rose the Yves Piaget.
In the following decades, the voluptuous Piaget Rose would adorn a multitude of the maison’s watch and jewellery collections, from incredible Altiplano wood and gem marquetry timepieces to elaborate Limelight high jewels, to a permanent line of openwork and diamond-studded daily-wearing pieces.
Van Cleef & Arpels: The dancer
Van Cleef & Arpels Ballet Precieux Adage a la Rose clip brooch in white and rose gold with diamonds and pink sapphires. (Photo: Van Cleef & Arpels)
Dance holds a special place in Van Cleef & Arpels’ heritage and was a lifelong passion of one of the house’s founders, Louis Arpels. Symbolising the maison’s harmonious blend of romance, artistry and technical precision, the first dancer clip brooches were introduced in 1941. With continuous inspiration from world-famous ballets, these masterpieces quickly came to be regarded as collectable treasures by the who’s who in high society.
The dancer gained superstardom under the charge of second-generation owner Claude Arpels, an avid ballet patron. In 1967, he produced a series of clip brooches as a homage to famed choreographer George Balanchine’s production “Jewels”, whose three acts were named Emeralds, Rubies, and Diamonds.
Every Van Cleef & Arpels dancer figurine usually bears the signature of a single rose-cut diamond for the face, with sparkling gems accentuating her ornate costume. Individually designed with a dynamic pose, each brooch encapsulates grace in motion — in the same vein as the maison’s winged fairy creations, another traditional emblem.
Chopard: The lace
Chopard Precious Lace earrings and transformable necklace in Fairmined-certified gold with diamonds. (Photo: Chopard)
Founded in 1860 by artisan watchmaker Louis-Ulysse Chopard, the brand was sold in 1963 to goldsmith and watchmaker Karl Scheufele III and is still owned by the Scheufele family today. Chopard’s gold craftsmanship heritage, together with the creative talent of co-president and artistic director Caroline Scheufele, brings to the maison the unparalleled quality of its jewels.
While its iconic Animal World High Jewellery collection is as fantastical as it is esteemed, the lace motif is an enduring yet lesser-known house motif. Exemplifying the intricate beauty of lace fabric and translating it into radiant jewellery needs nothing less than the highest standards of workmanship.
Flaunting alluring floral and geometric elements, Chopard’s Precious Lace designs are usually set in Fairmined-certified gold, with the occasional showpiece in platinum and titanium. Each main diamond or coloured gemstone is hemmed with a fine guipure of brilliant-cut diamonds, with prongs forming an openwork lattice on the back of the structure to allow light to filter through.
Dior: The Toile de Jouy
Dior Diorama & Diorigami yellow and pink gold necklace with diamonds, sapphires, mother-of-pearl and turquoise. (Photo: Dior)
Originally an 18th-century French fabric pattern featuring dreamy pastoral scenes, the Toile de Jouy was inducted into the world of high fashion by the legendary Christian Dior in the late 1940s. Often depicted in monochromatic hues, this nature-meets-couture motif swiftly became a house code and has continued to be loved today for its sense of nostalgia and refinement.
While the Toile de Jouy has undergone countless reinventions at Dior, taking pride of place on gowns, ready-to-wear, handbags, and even bag accessories, its leap into high jewellery only happened this year through artistic director Victoire de Castellane’s creative vision.
The setting of this first chapter of the Diorama and Diorigami collection is Monsieur Dior’s enchanting garden at his country retreat in Milly-la-Forêt. In these exquisite pieces, the leading characters of rabbits, swans, owls, foxes, foliage, and flowers are brought to life by engraved and faceted gemstones in a cornucopia of vibrant colours.
