Jewellers inspired by nature create sparkling masterpieces

May 14 , 2017

From Chopard's Garden of Kalahair collection. From thenecklace dangles three remarkable D-flawless stones: a 25ct pear-shaped, 50ct brilliant-cut, and 26ct heart-shaped diamonds. The pear-shaped andheart-shaped diamonds can be detached and worn as earrings.

Jewellery maisons Cartier, Piaget, Chopard, Tiffany, Dior, Harry Winston, Boucheron and De Beers take nature as inspiration

Nature has long captured the imagination of designers. Breathtaking marine life, the vivacious colours of flora and fauna or the predatory presence of a wild beast, each provides a decorative proposition.

Jewellery brands have taken symbols of nature as their own. Cartier embodies the regal, powerful stance of its panther, as much as Piaget has a legitimate claim on the rose; Yves Piaget was an avid rose grower and has a species named after him.

Fuelled by the nuances of the seasons, interpretations of nature are a perennial theme in collections and one of the most exquisite examples this year comes from Chopard.

The Garden of Kalahari is built on a metaphorical network of flowers, but nature provided Chopard a precious gift to create it. The collection is carved from a single, 342ct rough diamond with a D-flawless grading, a colossal tennis ball-sized rock of perfect clarity and colour.

The diamond, named The Queen of Kalahari after the desert where it was found, was discovered in Botswana’s Karowe Mine two years ago.

From Chopard's Garden of Kalahari collection. From the necklace dangles three remarkable D-flawless stones: a 25ct pear-shaped, 50ct brilliant-cut, and 26ct heart-shaped diamonds. The pear-shaped andheart-shaped diamonds can be detached and worn as earrings.

Chopard cut the rock into 23 diamonds of different weights and shapes, five weighing more than 20ct, to get stones that would form the most prestigious collection of jewellery to emerge from its workshop.

“This is a truly exceptional stone,” says Chopard’s co-president and artistic director Caroline Scheufele. “I wanted to explore every possibility and to represent all diamond cuts.”

Each stone represents a different flower species set in the feminine lace-like patterns that Chopard does so well.

The showstopper is a transformable necklace. A choker can be embellished with petal shaped diamonds or a detachable flower, that can be transformed in pendants from the three biggest stones: a 50ct brilliant cut, a 26ct heart shape and a 25ct pear shaped diamond. These can be attached to crescent-shaped earrings to create a magnificent pair of mismatched drop earrings.