STYLE Edit: Chanel unveils the 55.55-carat Allure Céleste diamond necklace, dazzling centrepiece of the new ‘1932’ collection celebrating Coco Chanel’s first high jewellery designs
- Coco Chanel is credited with crafting the world’s first high jewellery collection, in the wake of the Wall Street Crash, at the behest of the London Diamond Corporation
- To celebrate the 90th anniversary of Bijoux de Diamants, the Paris maison has unveiled the ‘1932’ collection – led by the magnificent 55.55-carat Allure Céleste
As the signature piece from Chanel’s new “1932” collection, the Allure Céleste necklace is both a show-stopping homage to the beauty of the starry night sky, and a heartfelt tribute to the first-ever high jewellery collection in history. Not to mention also celebrating the genius of the woman who designed the epoch-making Bijoux de Diamants collection, the house’s legendary founder Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel.
“Gabrielle Chanel had a visionary approach to jewellery. She had the idea of creating the first high jewellery collection in history to revolve around one overarching theme – the symbols of her universe: celestial shapes and couture,” explains Marianne Etchebarne, Chanel’s global head of watches and fine jewellery product marketing.
“‘1932’ is the name we have chosen for our new high jewellery collection, which pays tribute to the 90th anniversary of Bijoux de Diamants.”
Combining clean lines and sumptuous curves, the necklace evokes twinkling heavenly bodies and radiant starbursts. For the most part, they’re picked out in round-cut diamonds, but with pride of place taken by an intense blue oval sapphire weighing in at a distinctly opulent 55.55 carats, and a type IIa DFL pear-cut diamond weighing 8.05 carats. The piece is also fully transformable: the halos become brooches, while turning the central row of diamonds into a bracelet also lends the necklace a new, shorter form.
The Allure Céleste necklace is the undoubted highlight of the “1932” collection, recalling the historic Bijoux de Diamants unveiled by the Parisian maison 90 years ago – celebrated as the first time an entire collection of high jewellery had been released, setting a precedent that has shaped the industry ever since.
It came about when Coco Chanel was invited to create the collection by the London Diamond Corporation, which was looking to revive its fortunes after some challenging years following the Wall Street Crash of 1929. It turned to a designer known for her visionary approach to clothing and accessories alike, who crafted a revolutionary collection of about 50 pieces, featuring white and yellow diamonds set in platinum and yellow gold.
The same spirit of modernity has informed the creation of the new “1932” collection, which features 81 pieces conceived by the Chanel Jewelry Creation Studio. It comes with the same celestial inspiration as its storied predecessor, taking cues from the spectacular beauty of the heavens.
