Published on July 18, 2025
While many big name jewelers are choosing to show their haute joaillerie in far-flung locales from Sweden to Japan, a handful have kept it local to the annual pilgrimage to Place Vendôme during last week’s couture shows in Paris. The undeniable standout was, as usual, Boucheron who is in a league of its own creating concept jewels unlike anything anyone has ever seen before for its Carte Blanche collection. This year’s monumental moment was about art sculptures that transform into multiple wearable jewels. But for collectors looking for pieces that fall more within the norm of high jewelry, but are no less outstanding there were plenty of options. Take Graff’s spectacular 1963 necklace with sculptural and graphic forms that felt a touch hipper for the classic brand than usual—set with 129 carats of diamonds, it is also the most intricate necklace the house has ever made. The piece is lined with emeralds for a wink of color that can only be seen from certain angles. Speaking of, emeralds were a major theme throughout the collections. David Morris has a massive 48.65-carat Colombian emerald as the focal point on a diamond necklace, while Chopard dazzled with a watch set entirely in 38.99 carats of emeralds for its Red Carpet collection—both are instant spotlight grabbers. And while Messika, known for its diamonds, also had a massive emerald on a diamond collar for the first time, our favorite piece was a standout collar necklace in white gold and diamonds with sliced insets of yellow gold.
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Boucheron Impermanence Composition No. 3
Image Credit: Boucheron Every July, Boucheron creative director Claire Choisne unveils her Carte Blanche collection where she’s given the freedom to realize the most creative jewelry creations her mind can conceive no matter how out-of-the-box the concepts. And each year, she astounds jewelry lovers with her phenomenal and unparalleled designs. They are made even more impressive by the fact that she is able to do something that feels entirely new every year while working on eight collections simultaneously all with an air of seemingly effortless ease that disguises the rigorous research and development it takes to create these art jewels.
This year’s Impermanence collection, inspired by the fleeting quality of nature, revealed a series of sculptures that can be taken apart to be worn as multiple jewelry pieces. We’ve seen the concept before in jewelry artists like Christopher Thompson Royds and Wendy Ramshaw, but Choisne’s execution was on an entirely different scale—more elaborate and significantly more complicated.
Seen here is an arrangement of wisteria and iris with a small stage beetle climbing a stem. The flowers rise from an aluminium and titanium vase set with black spinels. The iris, wisteria, and beetle are made from diamonds, white ceramic, aluminum, titanium, and white gold (the bud of the iris is paved with black spinels). The iris and beetle can be worn as a brooch, while the wisteria is a headpiece weighing just 150 grams. This incredible work of art took 4,685 hours of work.
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Graff 1963 Necklace
Image Credit: Graff This exquisite Graff 1963 necklace is set with a total of 7,790 carats of custom-cut oval-, baguette-, and round-cut diamonds totaling over 129 carats. But, upon closer inspection, you will notice a wink emeralds lining the edges of its sculptural form. According to CEO François Graff, it is the most technically challenging and intricate jewelry suites the company has ever created.
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Chopard Red Carpet Collection Watches
Image Credit: Chopard Chopard features its high jewelry on the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival each year, so in Paris it predominately focused on jeweled watches. While there are plenty of gem-set and stone dial watches to make one’s heart sing, the timepiece set with 38.99-carats of emeralds, additional emeralds and diamonds set in 18-karat white gold and it’s sister in 34.37-carats of diamonds set in 18-karat white gold are certainly stomp out the competition.
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Vhernier Ardis Forma di Luce Necklace and Ring
Image Credit: Vhernier Vhernier’s signature look is so strong as to be instantly recognizable to those in the know. This season, it took its classic form and dazzled it in pavé diamonds set in rose gold with 2,695 diamonds in 19.35 carats for the Ardis Forma di Luce necklace and 550 diamonds for total of 3.60 carats in the matchingring.
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David Morris Riviera Necklace
Image Credit: David Morris The undeniable crown jewel at David Morris was the 18-karat white gold Rivier necklace set with a massive 44.39-carat cushion-cut Colombian emerald surrounded by 48.65 carats of mixed shape white diamonds interspersed with 2.87 carats of round emeralds. Despite its serious heft in carat weight and overall opulence it wears surprisingly lighter than one might think in case you’re inclined to wear your gems more frequently than the gala circuit.
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Mikimoto Les Pétales Earrings and Ring
Image Credit: Mikimoto Mikimoto’s high jewelry is typically wildly ornate (think lattice work bibs of pearls and multistrand pearl necklaces with giant flowers set in diamonds as accents) charged with high-wattage femininity. But th is season there were a few pieces that stood out for skewing a little more modern than romantic. For those that love a pearl, but are looking for something a touch more wearable this pair of 18-karat white gold earings with a whie South Sea cultured pearls and diamonds set on cascading petals proved the Japanese jeweler has something for all kinds of well-heeled women. A matching ring completes the vibe.
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Pasquale Bruni Rosina Necklace
Image Credit: Pasquale Bruni Eugenia Bruni, Pasquale Bruni’s creative director, took inspiration from a rose that grew in her father’s childhood home in Calabria to realize this wildly intricate rose petal collar in 18-karat white gold set with 112.70 carats of diamonds. On the interior is a heart set with pink sapphires. The necklace can be worn with the rose petal facing the front or with the backside, with just the petals, worn facing forward. The Rose can also detach to be worn on a thick velvet collar, Marie Antoinette-style. And it is surely fitting for a modern-day queen.
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Messika Terre D’Instinct Fauve Necklace
Image Credit: Messika Messika is celebrating 20 years this year, which, among the Place Vendôme set, is like practically being a newborn. Much of its appeal lies in its edgier modern designs than many of its counterparts in Paris’ high jewelry haven. Case in point: This ultra-cool sculptural color necklace set with 70.28 carats of brilliant cut diamonds set in 18-karat white gold with hollows of yellow gold meant to evoke the incisions left behind by a lion’s claws. A recent gem-sourcing trip to Namibia inspired the collections many forms that reflect the wild landscape and wildlife of Africa.
features 70.28 carats of brilliant-cut diamonds set in 18K white and yellow gold.
E IS POWER, CARVED. BRUSHED GOLD BEARS THE MARKS OF A PURE
FORM TORN BY A LION’S CLAW, BOLD INCISIONS THAT CUT DEEP INTO MATTER
THEN YIELD TO PAVÉ LIGHT. POWER IS NOT SHOWN BUT FELT, RIPPED BENEATH
THE SURFACE.
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De Beers Essence of Nature: Chapter 2 Camelthorn Resilience Bracelet
DeBeers Essence of Nature: Chapter 2 delves into the company’s four diamond regions: Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, and Canada. This elegant bracelet features a pear-shaped diamond nestled atop an 18-karat white gold bangle adorned in diamonds. It mimics the form of the Camelthorn tree native to Namibia’s desert landscapes. It’s simple, but with a twist that will make a head turn for a second glance.
