“This time, I wanted to work with the idea of all the colors fighting each other!” Victoire de Castellane insists when she’s asked to describe her new high jewelry collection, Cher Dior. You haven’t misheard her, and it isn’t her charmingly accented English getting in the way—she really means she loves the idea of unlikely colored stones nestled next to each other or locked in a strange embrace. So in her latest dramatic effort, rubies nuzzle purple sapphires; yellow sapphires hug their pink confreres. “They are not supposed to be friends, but they are stuck together!” the designer laughs.
(clockwise from top left) Cher Dior Exquise Pink Sapphire earrings; Cher Dior Exquise Ruby ring; Cher Dior Fascinante Emerald bracelet Front; Cher Dior Fascinante Emerald necklace
De Castellane, who manages to seem elfin even as she towers over you in acid green stilettos, explains that the collection began as an imaginary letter to Monsieur Dior, and is an homage to the firm’s couture atelier. To that end, the back of each piece is as finely wrought as the front, worked to evoke golden lace, or to bring to mind the finest embroidery. And every piece, no mater how large and impressive the stones it incorporates, retains the delicacy of execution that de Castellane is famous for.
The exquisite results may look like they just arrived from heaven (where M. Dior gave them his blessing?), but the process has been a lengthy one: The stones were curated over the last two years, hailing from places as far-flung as the American Southwest and Hong Kong. Before committing to them, de Castellane had them sent to France to see if they would pass muster in the Parisian light.
“I think you can have daylight and evening-light jewelry—I like the idea that the pieces have their special moments, maybe they should be worn for just two hours of the day!” she argues, half-serious. But a moment later she relents, admitting that “all the most beautiful stones are marvelous in all different lights.”
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