Two hundred years ago, French luxury icon Louis Vuitton was born. To celebrate, the house has unveiled a new collection of high jewellery inspired by the formidable founder and his impact on the industry at large. The 90-piece Bravery High Jewellery collection is the brainchild of Louis Vuitton’s artistic director for jewellery and watches Francesca Amfitheatrof. The 53-year-old pored over the maison’s archives to ensure Vuitton’s legacy was reflected accurately and artfully. And that’s no small feat, considering the visionary is responsible for the iconic canvas trunks and the famous monogram, among many other innovations that paved the way for modern luxury.
The Bravery High Jewellery collection is comprised of eight chapters that chart Vuitton’s life chronologically. Think of it as a biography depicted with the finest gemstones and metals. Necklaces are the centrepiece of each chapter and symbolise milestone moments in Vuitton’s life. The collection also includes rings, earrings and brooches.
The first chapter, La Constellation d’Hercule, was named for the constellation under which Vuitton was born on 4 August 1821. As such, the bib necklace is made up of tanzanite, tsavorite and Australian opals that represent the night sky full of stars.
The next major milestone came when Vuitton left home at aged 13, just a few years after his mother died. It took him three years to travel 250 miles from the rural Jura region in eastern France to Paris as he perfected his craft along the way. This plight is depicted in the striking La Flêche necklace, which features three rows of platinum, yellow gold and white gold, entirely pavé-set with diamonds and Colombian emeralds to represent the forests.
“Driven by his curiosity about the world, he embarked on that incredible journey across France. That’s why we have named this collection Bravery,” Amfitheatrof said in a statement. “It’s not a word often used in high jewellery. Yet these notions of determination and adventure are intrinsic to Louis Vuitton, and we wanted to express them through this collection.”
The pièce de résistance of the Bravery High Jewellery collection is the three-row Le Mythe necklace (top) that combines several Louis Vuitton signatures, including the Damier (checkerboard) pattern, studs and motifs inspired by trunk locks and the flower icon. Encrusted with sapphires, emeralds and diamonds, it represents Vuitton laying the foundations for his house that is now a global tour de force worth almost US$15 billion. That’s certainly worth celebrating.
Previously published on Robb Report.
