London,
Chanel’s love affair with English Tweed carries on unabated, notwithstanding the passage of nearly a century! The French fashion house presented their 63 piece high-jewelry line inspired by the weave of the Scottish fabric – TWEED. The Maison unveiled this Tweed de Chanel high-jewelry line at London’s Royal Horticultural Halls last week on the 7th June, 2023.
Patrice Leguéreau, Director Chanel Fine Jewellery Creation Studio designed this 63 piece Tweed de Chanel jewelry line, as an ode to the brand’s signature fabric. Naturally, it was only appropriate to unveil this line to the world in London instead of the popular venue for most French jewelers, the Paris Couture Week.
Tweed Royal necklace with the diamond-encrusted lion head
Tweed Royal necklace without the diamond-encrusted lion head
This was the second chapter of Tweed de Chanel collection. The first chapter, with 45 pieces of jewelry designed by Patricia Leguérea, had debuted in 2020.
Leguéreau said, “Ever since I joined Chanel in 2009, I have been fascinated by tweed. One of the first people I met was [French embroiderer] François Lesage, and I remember him showing me his archives of embroidery and tweed. I was immediately drawn to this material and its history. I had squares of tweed woven specially so that I could examine the fabric close up and draw my inspiration from it for the second collection.”
Chanel yellow gold and white gold Tweed Astral ring
Chanel yellow gold and white gold Tweed Royal bracelet
Named for the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders, tweed became a signature of Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel’s clothing collections during the 1920s, when her decade long affair with the Duke of Westminster saw her exposed to the British aristocracy and its longstanding traditions of country life. Accordingly, the new 63-piece collection weaves in references to this time in Chanel’s life alongside iconic emblems of the house, including the camellia, comet, ribbon, sun and lion.
Tweed Petale Earrings
Chanel pink gold and white gold Tweed Camélia necklace
Organized into five chapters around these symbols, across the collection sapphires, diamonds, beryls and other precious stones are combined with white, yellow and rose gold to create intricate designs immediately evocative of their inspiration. The Tweed Solaire ring, for example, nestles fiery orange and yellow topaz and beryls among yellow gold and diamonds for a sunshine-hued piece that immediately recalls the texture of tweed.
Tweed Celeste Necklace
Tweed Ruban Bracelet
Elsewhere, the Tweed Céleste necklace combines yellow diamonds, sapphires and onyx in a palette taken straight from a stary night sky, while the Tweed Pétale earrings recreate the movement and fluidity of tweed in a camellia-inspired selection of diamonds, pink sapphires and rose gold.
Tweed solitaire ring
Chanel yellow gold Tweed Byzance brooch
The centerpiece of the collection is the Tweed Royal necklace, which forms parts of the Tweed Lion chapter. Formed using a woven golden chain set with 37 rubies, the plastron necklace features a clever transformable design that allows for a central diamond-encrusted lion head to be removed and worn as a brooch, while a stunning 10.17 carat D Flawless pear-cut white diamond can also be detached and worn as a ring.
“You can’t imagine the ingenuity and inventiveness deployed by the craftspeople in our workshops in reproducing the flexibility and fluidity of the fabric using metal and precious stones,” says Leguéreau. “That said, I was very determined that the technical prowess employed in the making of these pieces should take second place to their beauty and uniqueness. It was absolutely imperative that the jewelry should be light and comfortable to wear, as if you are being draped with a piece of fabric.”
