One could hardly dream of a better locale than Saint-Tropez for Louis Vuitton to unveil its latest and most extensive high jewelry collection. Titled “Awakened Hands, Awakened Minds,” the project was the brainchild of Francesca Amfitheatrof, the house’s Artistic Director for Watches and Jewelry. In conceiving of this collection, she wanted to celebrate one of France’s most transformative periods: the 19th century, which marked an explosion of both creativity and innovation. It also coincided with the moment when Louis Vuitton himself, then a teenager, had freshly arrived in Paris as an apprentice and would begin creating the trunks that would define the house.
Each of the 220 one-of-a-kind pieces highlights the maison’s exquisite, rare precious stones: Traceable Mozambican rubies that literally glow with phosphorescence under UV light, a Zambian emerald weighing in at over 12 carats and sapphires from Kashmir, Sri Lanka, and Madagascar, to name a few. However, the master stone is a 56.23-carat intense pink diamond. It is the collection’s most important and rarest, the stone christened the Coeur de Paris (Heart of Paris) diamond.
Equally important is the craftsmanship and innovative know-how needed to set these spectacular gems. For the Splendeur collar, which is among the collection’s most complex creations, 17 setters and 30 jewelers were required to fashion the final product. More than 2,400 elements were individually mounted, for a total of 3,217 hours of work.
Seeing all of these pieces housed together in a private chateau overlooking the calm Mediterranean, while smelling the fresh pine trees in the gardens surrounding the home, gave guests the dreamiest aspirations of exactly where one would want to be while adorned in any of these otherworldly creations.
“Awakened Hands, Awakened Minds tells a story that’s very close to who we are,” says Amfitheatrof. “By showing this mixture of craftsmanship, engineering, invention and bravery—we are really talking about Louis Vuitton. This collection signifies everything that is true to the Maison, true to French luxury, true to Art de Vivre—and we couldn’t celebrate in a better way.”
Take a closer look at Louis Vuitton’s Awakened Hands, Awakened Minds collection, below:
