Boucheron Looks To The Eighties For Anti-Blues High Jewelry Collection

In Paris, Boucheron’s Place Vendôme salons are the scene today, for the reveal of a high jewelry collection like no other. More is More is an exuberant and innovative ode to joy from Design Director Claire Choisne, who mined the playful, colorful aesthetic of the 1980s to counteract “post-covid anxiety” and lift the spirits, according the house’s press representatives. “More is More offers joy as a remedy” reads the release, and Place Vendôme has never looked more upbeat.

Created at the height of the pandemic, Boucheron’s latest offering is all about extravagant volume and vibrant colors, expressed through straightforward shapes. Choisne aimed to offer up “joy as an antidote to gloominess”, after two “extremely troubling years”, and chromatic contrasts and trompe l’oeil abound, with giant pearls recreated with mother of pearl powder paint under sapphire glass, and oversized diamond chain links given the illusion of volume using lacquer. The collection harnesses materials seldom used in high jewelry, like bio-acetate and magnesium, seeking to redefine notions of preciousness, which feels appropriate for the times we live in.

Simple forms like rock crystal spheres and and diamond-encrusted cubes take center stage in rings and hair jewelry, while heritage designs like the 1910 Wave tiara and Faerger Question Mark necklace are reinterpreted, as a lightweight lacquer and diamond brooch, and trompe l’oeil neck piece respectively. Transformable jewelry is one of the house’s hallmarks, and the Jack motif is reinterpreted precious hoodie cords that can also be worn as earrings.

From diamond Rubik’s cube necklaces to detachable fine jewelry pockets and gemstone brooches styled as iron-on patches, a thread of playfulness runs throughout. I spoke to Claire Choisne about an unexpected collection.

Why were you particularly drawn to the Eighties aesthetic?

The references associated with this collection will bring you back to childhood, to the 1980s, whether it’s systematic use of color, or the references to puzzles I enjoyed when I was younger. I would have loved this collection as a child — I lived from day to day, in a kind of light-heartedness.

We are seeing increasingly unusual materials in high and fine jewellery. What are your thoughts on what this says about notions of ‘preciousness’?

Today, precious is generally associated with the size of a gem. For me, it’s the opposite. High Jewelry is at the service of emotion and poetry, and it is our duty to question the precious. At Boucheron, using diamonds and precious stones is easy, but finding a way to arouse emotion is more challenging.

It was fine if the collection didn’t look like a High Jewelry collection; because from a technical point of view and in terms of preciousness, it does. Even in a demanding industry, such as High Jewelry, “precious” need not be opposed to “joyful”. I believe High Jewelry is a love story between a person and a piece. If someone understands the message, the creativity, she or he will fall in love with the jewel.

My approach is to be as free as possible in the themes that we choose, and to dream. What inspires and fascinates me is the freedom we have to achieve that dream. Sometimes, that means precious gems or simple techniques, but we also test and play with unexpected materials or techniques as long as they allow us to express that creative dream. Frédéric Boucheron was a pioneer of creation and technique back in 1858 and we perpetuate this tradition of innovation by maintaining freedom to create. I am lucky to work with Hélène Poulit-Duquesne, our CEO. She loves innovation as much as I do and is not afraid to give me the freedom to create, even when it seems crazy.

How long did the collection take to create?

The first creative ideas and R&D were in 2020, and it took a year to produce the most complex pieces. With More is More, we went even further into the details than for any of our other Carte Blanche collections. What I find great is that this doesn’t show. Our goal was to create a sensation of joy, without feeling the efforts, the technical prowess behind it. It took hours and hours of work to get there, and I hope people can focus on the emotion of taking and receiving that joy.

For example, This is Not a Ring set made up of cubes and spheres looks simple from afar but when you look closely, you’ll see extremely fine carving. It’s like microscopic mother-of-pearl carving, it’s incredible! Anyone seeing it close-up will understand the standard we set ourselves to make it.

I am intrigued by the Pocket. Why did you want to explore the jewelry-textiles crossover point? Do you have any further plans to develop this category?

Why not? For this collection I didn’t want any constraints. I wanted my team and I to design whatever made us happy. So the creative process was about going for what we wanted, taking responsibility for our choices and finding solutions to make it all work.

It sounds simple, but it’s easier said than done. It may seem eccentric to create a High Jewelry pocket that you can put on your garment. But a pocket is not like a necklace. A necklace is put around the neck and it should be fine. A pocket, you have to be able to move with, sit down, put your hand in, it needs to be able to support the weight of a phone… It’s much more complex to make than a necklace!

We found the solution by combining lycra with titanium which is four times lighter than gold. The pocket looks rigid, but a system of 3D-printed plates are fixed together with titanium screws to allow articulation. It’s attached to the garment using magnets either side of the fabric. This structure is covered with onyx, diamonds, and gray lacquer. I like the feeling that it was simple and easy to make!

Who did you have in mind during design?

When we start brainstorming the Carte Blanche collections with my creative studio there is always an analysis of the current situation: how do we feel at that moment, what do we feel like doing? It was quite fun seeing all the sketches, the playful mock-ups spread around the table with the jewelers. Then everybody saying, “Come on, let’s do it!”.

We designed this whole collection as we wanted, then we found the technical means to ensure the pieces were comfortable, in scales we found fun. We worked with extremely light materials, which allowed us to craft each piece as it had been imagined, while keeping them pleasant to wear. I sincerely think anyone discovering this collection will have that sensation of joy inside them.