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Melissa Pearce

The most exquisite and exclusive jewellery show of its kind, the Biennale des Antiquaires, will open its doors in Paris next week for its 27th edition. The star- and diamond-studded event spans arts, antiques and jewels, but the latter component has been growing every edition.
In 2012, Chanel and Cartier doubled the size of their stands, and this year a large number of jewellers have created collections especially to be showcased at the Biennale, underlining the importance that the great maisons have attributed to this event.
An annual fair when it began in 1956, the Biennale became bi-annual in 1962 and relocated to the Grand Palais, a legendary Parisian landmark built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900, with its famed glass roof watching over a magical setting of pavilions, gardens and fountains. The breathtaking venue attracts A-list celebrities, and the VIP guests in attendance at the last fair included Charlotte Casiraghi, Salma Hayek, Sophie Marceau and Anna Mouglalis.
Making the most out of the stunning setting, the Biennale organisers enlist high-profile design professionals to collaborate on the art direction of the staging and visual collateral. Karl Lagerfeld was invited to do so in 2012, and past invitees have included Christian Lacroix, Pier Luigi Pizzi, an Italian opera director, set and costume designer, and Jean-Michel Wilmotte, a French architect. Lagerfeld considers the Grand Palais his favourite place in Paris, rife with memories of outsize Chanel runway shows he has held there; and he conceived a direction that was, at the time, the grandest yet of the Biennale.

Evoking the 19th century's city's elegant shop windows and arcades, the main walkway was modelled on the Champs-Élysées and featured allusions to Place de la Concorde, the largest square in the capital, and a 7-metre-high Arc de Triomphe, to create the feeling of exploring the city on foot. Even the floor covering was carefully considered, with a carpeting of the show floor with a textile print resembling cobbled pavestones. Lagerfeld's concept emphasised the immensity of the thick plate glass roof, which appeared like a protective sky. In doing so his team decorated parts of the restored Salon d'Honneur, an extension of the nave of the Grand Palais that is topped by a giant glass window, and served as a military hospital during the second world war.
For the 27th edition this year, the responsibility goes to the acclaimed interior designer Jacques Grange, a 18th, 19th and 20th centuries enthusiast. Grange, an art lover who bought a Toulouse-Lautrec at just 18, owns a Parisian abode that was once a home of the writer Colette, and counts some of today's most serious art collectors as his clients.
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For the event's design concept, Grange chose to celebrate the 400th anniversary of André Le Nôtre (1613-1700), the landscape designer behind the Gardens of Versailles. "I wanted to interpret [Le Nôtre's] work in the Grand Palais and pay homage to his amazing talent," Grange says. Guests attending Biennale next week will be able to experience the designer's recreation of the Gardens, a feat which Grange accomplished with help from the gardeners from Château de Versailles and Trianon.

The visual appeal of the Biennale is a hugely important part of the event and exhibitors often put as much work into the design and layout of their booths as their show pieces. The fair, however, is one of the most expensive in the world, and dealers pay small fortunes to rent their stands at the Grand Palais, where a single square metre of the 5,000-square-metre exhibition space, is worth about €1,300 (HK$13,500).
It goes without saying that the exhibitors have to make each inch of their expensive booths count, and guests visiting the fair next week are in for a treat. Boucheron, which returned to the fair in 2012 after an absence of several years, is preparing to unveil a remarkable botanical installation akin to the Gardens of Versailles. In addition to being a beautiful complement to Grange's overall design, the installation will provide a suitably verdant backdrop for the brand's Rêves d'Ailleurs collection, inspired by an ephemeral dreamland.
At this level of prestige and expense, it is no surprise that the number of exhibitors this year has dropped to 81 exhibitors from the 150 exhibitors at the 26th edition, but this, according to Christian Deydier, is how it should be. The president of Syndicat National des Antiquaires (SNA) said that they didn't want the Biennale to be a fair in which visitors didn't have time to see everything, and where low-level brands would show alongside high-level ones.

"[At the next fair], we'll cut the number of exhibitors, and at the next fair, we'll cut more - we'll keep it to 40 to 50 dealers," he said. "We just want the best in the world."
This year, French dealers and houses are predominant among the exhibitors handpicked by SNA, but there are also iconic players from the New York, London, and Geneva fine art, decorative arts and jewellery scenes. Although the previous line-up was 80 per cent French, the bill is increasingly international. In 2012, Wallace Chan became the first Chinese jeweller to be invited to take part and he will show again next week. His sculptural and natural visions are leaving an imprint in an arena whose guardians have historically been (and remain) the City of Light's giants. He acknowledges the milestone in his four-decade career and is effusive about the experience. "The Biennale is an exhibition of exceptional quality, a top-of-the-top platform for artists to showcase their talents, for cultures to have an exchange, and for art lovers to enjoy," he says. "It is historical and a feast of emotions, memory and humanity." Chan is not alone in his appreciation of the Biennale. All the Place Vendôme maisons will be present at the fair next week, with 80 per cent of their pieces created exclusively for the occasion and serving as a focal point of major collection releases and their exemplary atelier craftsmanship. In earlier years, vintage jewels were often the showcase, but now the gemstone, in innovative settings, receives the most fanfare, and transformative jewellery is of particular interest.
Cartier has an impressive tradition of transformable jewellery, and among its many alluring pieces to be showcased next week is a mesmerising necklace from its Royal Collection. For this piece, a stunning ruby from Mozambique has been used in a draperie or supple, structural necklace, fit for a queen of the African continent. To transform it into a different look, the sphere choker can be detached, giving way to an array of diamonds.

Piaget, which created its Extremely Piaget Collection especially for the Biennale, has among its head-turning pieces a necklace with two wearing options. The necklace features marquise-cut diamonds that frame two magnificent emeralds, and a dramatic way to wear it would be to have one of the necklace's detachable extremities dancing along the back.
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In the way of gemstones, there will be plenty to see. Graff - a name that epitomises expertise in gemstone sourcing, cutting and setting - takes pride in depicting the richly hued beauty of nature. Its meticulous crafting will be seen in a ruby and diamond necklace, bracelet and earrings set, with a floral centrepiece of the necklace that is set with an exquisite 5.1ct pigeon's blood Burmese ruby from which rows of opulent jewels cascade - pear shaped, round and marquise rubies contrasting with white diamonds.
In such sumptuous surrounds, Van Cleef & Arpels is well-placed to weave enchanted stories, this time a revisit of Peau d'Âne, the 17th century fairy tale of a young princess and a fairy. It is also a take on the house's favourite feminine figures with rose-cut diamond faces from the 1940s and other main themes such as a charmed nature, couture adornments and romance. Diamonds, fine and hard stones, pearls and coral form the palette, with love suggested not only by a ruby or pink sapphire but by dazzling green emeralds.

Some of the houses display highlights of their archive collections such as Chaumet's exquisite tiaras favoured by Napoleon's wives. This year a selection of heritage pieces is part of Bulgari's collection, a fitting complement to the brand's 130th anniversary.
The 27th edition of the Biennale des Antiquiares promises to be a dazzling event, and Lynn Hsieh, Hong Kong member of the honorary committee, finds great pleasure in her ambassadorial role. "The Biennale is definitely one of the best art events to immerse oneself in the beauty of human creations," she says.
Grange has been among the fair crowds for many years. "For me the Biennale is the symbol of French Art de Vivre. It is the only place in the world where you can view the best that dealers have to offer," he says. "I love going to see everything from antiques to jewellery."
But the Biennale is not just about inspiring awe. The houses bank on ultraluxury collections because they know that they will sell them, in a luxury and art market where rare and exceptional pieces are prized more than ever.
AT A GLANCE
EVENT
Biennale des Antiquaires, 27th Edition
DATES
September 11 to 21
VENUE
Grand Palais, Paris
HIGHLIGHTS
The public opening is preceded by a special VIP preview on September 10. Proceeds from a private gala dinner will go to the Fondation Hôpitaux de Paris, chaired by Madame Jacques Chirac, who also heads the Biennale’s honorary committee.
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Jewellery houses create special collections for Paris Biennale

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Karl Lagerfeld arrives at the 26th edition's VIP dinner. The fashion designer is himself a collector, with an acquisitive eye that spans 18th-century French furniture, art books and Vinyl records. Photo: Luc Castel

CENTREA ruby and diamond necklace from Graff

Wallace Chan's The Mighty brooch. Photo: Julio Piatti

Boucheron's Nymphea ring

The Astre de la Nuit ring from Van Cleef & Arpels

Wallace Chan and Lynn Hsieh attend the 26th edition's VIP dinner. Photo: Olivier Borde

A pink gold bangle from the Extremely Piaget collection, with pink opal plates, turquoise beads and brilliant-cut diamonds

This stunning necklace by Piaget features marquise-cut diamonds and two large emeralds, and can be worn two ways. Photo: Nils Herrmann

The Reine Makéda necklace from Cartier. Photo: Nils Herrmann

Cartier’s Royal Tiara. The tiara can be worn as a necklace; the natural pearl is removable and can be worn on a pendant. Photo: Nils Herrmann

A charming necklace from Bulgari. Photo: Antonio Barrella

Robe Couleur de la Lune clip by Van Cleef & Arpels

From left: Boucheron’s Nymphea ring; a ruby and diamond
necklace from Graff; the Astre de la Nuit ring from Van Cleef & Arpels

Jewellery houses create special collections for Paris Biennale

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Curtain to rise on the world's most prestigious jewellery show in Paris

Curtain to rise on the world's most prestigious jewellery show in Paris