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Francesca Fearon

At the haute couture shows in Paris in July, bejewelled handbags generated buzz by marrying fashion and precious gemstones to create the ultimate accessory. Exquisite conversation pieces, they are a fresh and delightful way to showcase beautiful stones.
Buccellati presented three one-of-a-kind clutch bags drawn from signature archival shapes and embellished with rich embroidery and gemstones. “The idea came from an exhibition last year in Venice featuring pieces from our archive and that included a handbag my grandfather, Mario, made in the 1930s, which everyone loved,” said Andrea Buccellati at the presentation in Paris.

“We designed a capsule of three: one very classic like my grandfather’s but a bit bigger to fit today’s mobile phones, one a bit more modern with gold embroidery, and the third is a complete crazy model – a ball.”
He admits that when his grandfather was working, the most fitting social event was the opera at La Scala in Milan, where Buccellati is based. Nowadays, weddings and galas offer ideal opportunities to carry these precious accessories.
The difficulty – which he hadn’t expected – was finding artisans to make them, the skills being almost lost with the passage of time and the changing needs of the fashion world. The touches of gold and diamonds on the green velvet evening bag were particularly difficult. “There are no artisans able to do this any more. Finally, after much research, I found one artisan with a workshop in Milan able to do the work,” he says. Similarly, it took a while to find a workshop to make the gold clasps adorned with jewels.

Bulgari has long reinforced the link between high jewellery and accessories, combining its expertise in both fields to create luxurious conversation pieces. In April 2024, it announced the appointment of Greek-born London fashion designer Mary Katrantzou as its first creative director of leather goods and accessories. She now works with Lucia Silvestri, the mastermind behind Bulgari’s vibrant jewels, in creating a capsule of precious handbags.
“Before joining Bulgari I collaborated with their high jewellery team through two capsule collections,” says Katrantzou. After joining, she immersed herself in the archive and began working with artisans in Florence and the high jewellery team. “That dialogue is where the magic lies. It’s what fuels collections like Polychroma, where we extend Bulgari’s aesthetic and jewellery savoir faire into the world of unique bags. My vision was concentrated on expanding our footprint of high jewellery bags. The collection explores new silhouettes, special craftsmanship on our exotics, and jewellery closures that transform to be worn as pendants or brooches.”

She has spotlighted the Serpenti, Monete and Divas’ Dream symbols, reinterpreting them for the luxurious bags. The process begins with the high jewellery theme, then becomes a dialogue between teams of creatives. “What’s remarkable at Bulgari is that the jewellery doesn’t simply embellish – it informs the architecture of the bag,” she explains.
Katrantzou’s influential early work – printed and richly embellished fashion collections – often featured hyperreal prints of faceted gemstones on silk, so that love for jewellery is in her design DNA. “Embellishment has always been central to my visual language; it is my way of translating an idea to something uniquely precious, evoking emotion and highlighting the importance of artmanship in luxury. Now, immersed in the world of high jewellery at Bulgari, that relationship has deepened,” she says.

Tasaki has put its jewellery know-how into accessories, with Japanese pearl and diamond specialists adding pearl handles to its evening bags in celebration of its bestselling Balance jewellery collection by Thakoon. Tiffany & Co., meanwhile, has mined the fabulous archive of its legendary designer Jean Schlumberger to come up with his ribbon motif from a 1957 design for a compact, reinterpreted as a handbag closure on responsibly sourced exotic leathers like alligator and stingray. Most of the clasps are in 18k gold vermeil with enamel, but there is a high jewellery version in 18k gold and diamonds that is detachable and can be styled as a brooch.

In a surprising move, Gucci presented in Paris a capsule collaboration with another Italian jewellery house, Pomellato. The two brands showed their joint commitment to Italian craftsmanship, uniting Gucci’s expertise in leatherwork and Pomellato’s heritage in goldsmithing and gem-setting. The Monili (the Italian word for “jewels”) capsule of softly sculpted leather pieces set with gold and pavé diamonds was first revealed in May, with more pieces added for Paris. Among the necklaces and cuffs was a black leather hard-cased minaudière with a diamond-set wrist strap.
Minaudières have a long history as jewelled bags, starting in the late 1920s and 1930s at Van Cleef & Arpels but also at Cartier. The minaudière was a cross between a clutch and a necessaire: a feminine, solid metal case decorated with gems, holding feminine things but also a cigarette case with inbuilt lighter as the habit of smoking wasn’t always acceptable among women, and so was artfully concealed.

Hermès has added two very modern minaudières this summer, one in silver and the other in gold, to its latest Chaine d’Ancre (anchor chain) collection, which shows the chains artfully jumbled together around a solid case, suspended on chain shoulder straps. The gold design is luxuriously set with diamonds.
Meanwhile, the title for the most famous bejewelled evening bag must surely go to the record-breaking 1001 Nights Diamond Purse crafted in 2010 by Mouawad, the Geneva-based Lebanese jeweller, and valued at US$3.8 million. Set with 381.92 carats of yellow, pink and colourless diamonds, it is the ultimate minaudière.


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Mouawad’s 1001 Nights Diamond Purse. Photo: Handout


This black silk design embellished with fine jewels is one of three clutch bags presented by Buccellati. Photo: Handout

Buccellati had to seek specialist craftspeople capable of making the bags’ jewel-encrusted clasps. Photo: Handout

Bulgari crocodile leather high jewellery bag. Photo: Handout

Tasaki pearl-embellished bag. Photo: Handout

Gucci and Pomellato Monili clutch. Photo: Handout

One of two very modern minaudières from the Hermès Chaîne d’Ancre collection. Photo: Handout

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Charlie XCX at Saint Laurent’s Paris presentation. Photo: Reuters

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Renée Zellweger’s all-black outfit at Saint Laurent. Photo: Reuters

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Emma Watson at the Miu Miu spring/summer 2026 show in Paris. Photo: Handout

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Liu Wen wears a blue evening gown from the Balenciaga haute couture collection. Photo: Handout

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Wings of Chanel necklace in white gold, platinum and natural polished diamonds with a cushion-cut Padparadscha sapphire. Photo: Handout

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Japanese actress Nana Komatsu wearing the Take My Breath Away set with actor Hio Miyazawa at the event in Kyoto. Photo: Vincenzo La Torre 

This brooch in white gold, sapphires and lacquer was made in collaboration with the workshop of Kyoto-based lacquer artist Yoshio Okada. Photo: Handout

Japanese actor Hio Miyazawa wearing a brooch with lacquer work by Yoshio Okada at the launch of the collection in Kyoto. Photo: Vincenzo La Torre 

A model wearing the Embrace Your Destiny necklace. Photo: Handout

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At the Paris Haute Couture Week shows, luxury maisons gilded the lily by adding beautiful stones to statement accessories, bringing back the minaudière


At the Paris Haute Couture Week shows, luxury maisons gilded the lily by adding beautiful stones to statement accessories, bringing back the minaudière.


Gucci, Hermès and Bulgari’s gem-studded bags redefine luxury

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}At the Paris Haute Couture Week shows, luxury maisons gilded the lily by adding beautiful stones to statement accessories, bringing back the minaudière

At the Paris Haute Couture Week shows, luxury maisons gilded the lily by adding beautiful stones to statement accessories, bringing back the minaudière