There’s an exclusive exhibition currently going on from the 19 th of May to the 18 th of July displaying a special set of royal gems and their journey since history, witnessed by the founder of the French jewellery brand Chaumet Paris.
Chaumet has been crafting royal jewellery pieces since 1780 and for 240 years, their exceptional timepieces have embodied the definition of elegance.
In 1804, Napoleon and his wife Josephine were crowned emperor and empress in a lavishly elaborated ceremony taking place in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris.
Josephine, Napoleon, and Chaumet – these three legendary destinies were closely tied together through the former couple’s rise and reign.
The founder of Chaumet, Marie-Etienne Nitot, was a former French royal jeweller of Marie-Antoinette’s personal jewels at the court of Versailles.
At the beginning of Napoleon’s regime, Nitot set The Regent, a legendary 140.5-carat diamond, on the coronation sword, and to thank Pope Pius VII for his presence at the coronation, the emperor gifted him with a unique papal tiara created by Nitot, while empress Josephine fell completely in love with Marie-Nitot’s naturalistic jewels.
She was immediately commissioned to make exclusively designed pieces for Josephine that would match up with the room she was in at the court to emphasise her love for pearls, gems, and natural motifs.
With Josephine’s penchant for nature and Marie-Nitot cultivating designs from her fondness, together they reinvented fashion through classical symbols of power and majesty, reflecting in Nitot’s jewellery which soon started impressing all the other ladies at the court, and the saga of unique, precious jewellery pieces continued through the reign of the emperor’s second wife Marie-Louise.
Towards the end of Napolean’s empire in 1815, Marie-Nitot’s son Francois-Regnault Nitot handed over his workshop to Chaumet’s master craftsman Jean-Baptiste Fossin, who continued to create remarkable, eternal pieces accentuating Maison’s gemstones that marked a prodigious place for their jewels in history for everyone to remember.
Magic at the museum Another exhibition one must visit online is “Cartier: Passing on Heritage and Savoir-Faire” – masterpieces from State Hermitage Museum and Cartier Collection.
It is a restoration of exclusively crafted pieces from Hermitage Museum’s treasury.
As a parallel of each one of Cartier’s items, the whole selection highlights the bond that Cartier had in unison with exceptional artistic crafts, like the unique Tutti Frutti style design that pays homage to the great, ceremonial necklaces of the maharajas.
The Maison’s Indian influences even add shimmering bracelets to the lot featuring platinum, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and black enamel.
Another mesmerizing piece from Cartier comes from the High Jewellery event at the House of Myasnikov in St.Petersburg – it’s a beautifully crafted, gleaming platinum and diamond necklace encasing a 13.08-carat cushion-shaped blue sapphire from Kashmir, and a 2.7-carat diamond, both of which are interchangeable and can be worn either on the necklace or on a ring.
More exclusive pieces at the House of Myasnikov have been grabbing headlines: One of them is a necklace of white gold, diamonds, onyx, and emeralds that is an abstract take on a crocodile motif featuring 18 sugarloaf rubellites, totalling up to 53.82 carats.
Cartier displays some more emblematic themes at the Shanghai Modern Art Museum this season with the same interpretation of the Tutti Frutti collection.
Another unique ring unfolds its charisma, set with a blue sapphire and cabochon-cut emeralds possessing an organic yet stunning architecture of design.
Further added to the exhibit are some more incredible pieces for Cannes Film Festivals as well.
Bringing backBvlgari, this year, is bringing back the magnificent high jewellery baroque-spiral necklace, uniting three collections in one piece of cabochon-cut emeralds, rubies, and sapphires, meticulously set one by one to create a 3D effect over their spiralling design.
Also, another unique piece is a semblance of the shade red like a Roman sunset – Bvlgari’s Ruby Metamorphosis necklace honours the passion symbolised by the burning hue of these celestial red gems.
Stunning rubies in the necklace and the opulent watch bracelet radiate pure Italian emotion, and what’s amazing is it can be transformed into chokers, brooches, and more.
Legends say that the age of gemstones – from the time they are formed within the earth – ranges from millions to billions of years.
Gemstones have been celebrated with pride and prodigy.
Some crystals hold healing properties and some are considered mood stones; a few others are chakra stones guiding astrological charts and providing strength and power to the ones seeking it.
Gemstones are full of surprises, from being iridescent to colour changers.
Our romance with gemstones studded in exquisite jewellery is centuries old, and there are without a doubt many more affairs to come ahead.
The thumbnail image is from Bvlgari Official, featuring Zendaya.