Sublimating nature is the mission that Frédéric Boucheron set himself over 160 years ago. To such a degree of realism and with such regularity that it has become an integral part of the DNA of the company. So it remained for the creative and technical teams to make it last forever. But not only through classic jewellery techniques. In July 2018, Boucheron brought nature into jewellery and took up a major challenge: using real flower petals to dress the nine rings in the “Les Eternelles” series. A collection made possible by the collaboration of the house with a petal artist who brought her know-how in the stabilisation and preservation of natural elements, paying a spectacular tribute to the herbariums of our childhood and – perhaps also a little – to the craftsmen of the French or Swiss Alps whose speciality was to preserve real Edelweiss flowers in medallions.
Flower ring in natural petals, set with an oval padparadscha sapphire of 4.16 ct, paved with black spinels, purple and orange sapphires on titanium and pink gold. Photo : Boucheron
While the company has accustomed us to exciting technical challenges, and the workshops will attest to this, the specifications for the entire collection presented certain risks. And the result is all the more beautiful as many pieces seemed unfeasible. It took the use of 3D and even more than that, the use of medical technology to achieve perfect scans of natural flowers in order to reproduce them in the form of jewellery. The result is incredibly realistic, with pieces combining titanium, gold and remarkable centre stones such as a 4.16-carat padparadscha sapphire, a 7.29-carat violet sapphire, an 8.18-carat imperial topaz and a 9.78-carat Malaya garnet.
Serpent bracelet set with tanzanites and pavé diamonds, on white gold. Photo : Boucheron
Lierre de Paris ring set with a rock crystal and mother-of-pearl dome, paved with diamonds, on white gold. Photo: Boucheron
Among the must-have pieces were the “Frosted Ivy” titanium necklace, the “Rain Flower” brooch and the “Flower Cloud” necklace representing the abundance of Hydrangea flower clusters. Thanks to the contribution of the scanography technique (sometimes called tomodensitometry), all the natural elements are the exact reflection of what they were in nature. The “Frosted Ivy” necklace, for example, was made from a scan of a real ivy branch, giving the jewellery absolutely perfect and natural volumes.
Ikebana hoop earrings set with mother-of-pearl and paved with diamonds, on yellow gold. Photo : Boucheron
Ivy of Paris necklace set with diamonds, on pink gold. Photo : Boucheron
Of course, nature would be nothing without its biodiversity. And Boucheron could not fail to complete its bestiary. Butterflies, snakes and cicadas are also part of this collection. Echoing the spectacular “Cicada” brooch from 1902(which I shared on Instagram) and which will be sold at Christie’s in a few months. Here we find the materials dear to the house and more particularly rock crystal, which it always uses with brilliance and elegance. When nature speaks, one must remain silent and contemplate it!
Silver butterfly necklace set with mother-of-pearl and onyx, paved with diamonds, on white gold. Photo : Boucheron
Sakura hoop earrings set with mother-of-pearl and diamonds, on yellow gold. Photo : Boucheron
Cicada” ring in white gold and diamonds. Photo : Boucheron
Flower ring in natural petals, set with a bouquet of daffodil diamonds, on titanium. Photo : Boucheron
Ivy Frosted necklace set with cacholong and pavé diamonds, on titanium. “Photo : Boucheron
Silver butterfly ring set with pavé diamonds, with black lacquer, on white gold. “Photo : Boucheron
Nuage de Fleurs necklace set with a 42.96 ct cushion pink tourmaline and mother-of-pearl, paved with diamonds, on pink gold. “Photo : Boucheron
See you soon!
