FASHIONISTAS who jet to Paris for their bout of shopping will know the iconic Place Vendome like the back of their hand. Its origins might have been as tribute to the military glories of Louis XIV, but these days, Place Vendome bows its head to haute fashion and design, and the battle is among the brands.
INSPIRED
Chanel Perles et Noeud necklace, brilliant cut diamonds and cultured pearls.
The late Coco Chanel had a hand in establishing Place Vendome as a highly fashionable destination in fact. Residing at the Ritz residences at Place Vendome and walking to her boutique daily, it's no wonder that when she designed her first jewellery collection, she used the architecture of Place Vendome as a blueprint in her jewellery designs.
'In that, she was unique. She was among the first to use the architecture of an iconic destination in her jewellery designs,' states Frederic Bocquillon, Chanel's regional general manager of watches & fine jewellery.
Most notably, she drew on the octagonal layout of Place Vendome, and also its architectural embellishments, like the symbol of the sun which decorates all the railings of the Place.
Chanel's latest collection embodies the themes Coco established for the jewellery line, first created in 1932, but which had a hiatus until 1994, when the fashion house under Karl Lagerfeld decided to revive the haute joaillerie line.
For this edition, stunners include the Etoile bracelet watch which drapes the wrist gracefully like a multi-layered bracelet, the black diamond-lined bows in the Ruban line, the Soleil ring, and the criss-cross diamond studded 'Tweed' ring. Themes include the sun and the stars, even wheat sheafs which Coco had in her apartment, ribbons and her famous tweed.
The 'Premiere' necklace and watch make direct reference to Place Vendome's octagonal shape, which is also the frame used for Chanel's first watch design.
The collection was launched last week in a special invite-only three-day exhibition that recreates the look of Place Vendome, but they're now in Chanel's jewellery store for a month before they are flown to Taipei.
The dedicated boutique which opened last year did so surprisingly well, says Mr Bocquillon, that it justified making Singapore the first Asian stop after the collection made its debut in Paris last December.
It's also in line with Chanel's plans to open a flagship store at Marina Bay Sands and Sentosa's Resorts World - underscoring the brand's invested presence here.
With prices for the jewellery ranging from $45,000 to $2.5 million, each design will have a limited edition of only about 10 pieces for sale. 'While it's a way to retain the value of each piece, it's also because there's a limited amount of raw material as the stones are also unique,' points out Mr Bocquillon.
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This article was first published in The Business Times.
