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Annie Brown

High jewellery season is something akin to the hard luxury Super Bowl. After all, it’s the annual moment for the top jewellery maisons to show one-of-a-kind creations, using the most exquisite gemstones to wow their top clients in far-flung (and envy-inducing) destinations around the world. A jewellery rush is inevitable.
Beyond exceptional pieces, the lavish events held to unveil the collections – from Cartier in the South of France to Louis Vuitton in Marrakech – are important too. For one, as Julie Kim, co-founder of luxury consultancy Skale and a former long-time executive at Cartier, points out, they offer the one thing money can’t buy.

“These clients can buy anything – material or experience wise – so how do houses wow their clients? With access,” she says. “It’s the access that only the high jewellery maison can provide through its unique connections worldwide that shows clients the world they’re buying into. Access is more based on relationships and credibility than budget,” she says. Wooing a high jewellery client, Kim notes, takes trust and time.
Also, as she points out, amid a broader ongoing luxury slump, hard luxury such as jewellery remains resilient. The clients for such pieces tend not to be impacted by economic downturns and may indeed increase their wealth, and diversify their investments, in times like these.
Beyond being a unique investment, high jewellery holds allure, says Kim, because it is easily transportable and an expression of its owner’s taste and style.

“Every single piece is one of a kind so when you purchase a high jewellery piece, no one else in the world will have the same exact piece. The precious stones that high jewellery maisons scour the world in search of, combined with the design and savoir faire to bring the jewellery to life, are what create rarity. These pieces maintain their value and can even increase in value over time,” she says.
High jewellery, like haute couture, has a halo effect on a house. It represents, after all, the pinnacle of craftsmanship and storytelling.
As ever, storytelling was in sharp focus this season, with inspirations ranging from ancient Egypt to secret gardens, nature in its various cycles and talismans for protection.
From colourful gemstones to technical feats, preciousness was indeed in full flight this season.
Rainbow bright

Piaget has long embraced its jet-set heritage, with the house’s jewels best worn aboard a private jet or by an azure body of water. This season the Swiss maison embraced its glamorous take on life with the Colours of Extraleganza collection. The 65-piece collection follows 2024’s Essence of Extraleganza and last year’s Shapes of Extraleganza, celebrating the maison’s golden era of design in the 60s and 70s.
This year Piaget leaned into the colourful ornamental stone dials – such as malachite and tiger’s eye – of its timepieces as inspiration.

Bold uses of colour were also at the centre of Cartier’s Le Chœur des Pierres collection, unveiled in Saint-Tropez. Gemstones were at the heart of the line, including incredible coloured diamonds, vivid emeralds and fiery rubies. Colour combinations were, as ever, very Cartier, especially in pieces such as the Tutti Kanya necklace, a tribute to the exuberant jumbles of gems in the maison’s instantly recognisable Tutti Frutti designs. Other beautiful uses of colour included Graff’s yellow diamonds, the deep-blue tanzanites at Messika and the gumdrop gemstones in Gucci’s Gucci Nodo necklaces.
Four seasons

Nature has always been a wellspring of inspiration for jewellery maisons, from naturalistic depictions to capturing fleeting, exquisite moments. Chopard looked to everyday wonders – a cloud, a fleetingly beautiful sky – for its Miracles collection. One of the year’s most fascinating designs is a Boucheron necklace in rock crystal, diamonds and white gold, engineered to create the illusion of raindrops shimmering on the skin. Flowers were certainly in bloom too. At Gucci the Flora scarf illustrated by Vittorio Accornero in 1966 as a gift for film star-turned-princess Grace Kelly inspired several pieces, including the Poppy necklace, its petals rendered in rubellite tourmalines; and the Lily collection, set with graduated blue sapphires. At Dior, Christian Dior’s lifelong love of flowers was reimagined in lush, vibrant and somewhat fantastical takes on flora, with pieces such as the Glycines wisteria necklace, set with a gradient of rubies, sapphires, spinels and diamonds. In the same vein, the Diorissima Lucky Flowers necklace sees thin layers of gemstones such as chrysoprase, aventurine, opal and turquoise crafted into clover-shaped leaves, with 178 pear-cut diamonds for extra luck.

Tiffany & Co., meanwhile, continues to explore the wit and whimsy of Jean Schlumberger with its latest Blue Book chapter, Hidden Garden. The legendary designer’s take on nature – he once said he wanted his creations to appear as if they were “growing, uneven, organic” – is a mantle taken up by Nathalie Verdeille, chief artistic officer, high jewellery and jewellery. In Hidden Garden there are such wonders as the Bloom pendant – almost otherworldly in its beauty, featuring unenhanced pink and purple sapphires – and the Jasmine necklace, set with seven pink-purple cushion-cut kunzite gemstones.

Creatures great and small

Creatures were another key theme this season – in particular, butterflies, their ethereal beauty a source of inspiration at both Chopard and Tiffany & Co. At Chopard, butterflies were delicately rendered in rings set with pear, round and oval-shaped diamonds, while Tiffany’s Butterfly pendant and brooch, set with fancy vivid yellow diamonds, was a show-stopper in full flight.

The animal kingdom is never far from the minds of the designers at Cartier and Bulgari. The latter’s most treasured motif, Serpenti, sheds its skin once more, emerging into necklaces that command attention. Meanwhile the big cats in the Cartier menagerie made their presence known. The panther may be the queen of the Cartier universe, but this season the tiger took her place. A highlight piece was the Haryma necklace: a tiger stalking its way across lozenges of imperial topazes and geometric overlays of garnets, onyx, and white, yellow and orange diamonds.
Signs and symbols

Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel was famously superstitious. Her totems included the number five as well as lions, the sun and the stars. The maison’s new high jewellery collection, Signes & Symboles, uses some of these talismans as inspiration and to imbue each piece with meaning. Exceptional pieces include the Imprimé Lion necklace, set with a 20.66-carat sapphire.
Another maison to examine meaningful motifs was Van Cleef & Arpels with its Fascinating Egypt collection. Reconnecting with the storied jeweller’s past Egyptian influences – including its pieces created at the height of the Egyptomania that swept the world in the wake of the 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb – the collection explores the influence of art deco and mythology on Van Cleef & Arpels’ creations. Stand-out pieces include the Griffon Mystérieux clip, which uses the house’s famed mystery setting, enabling emeralds to be set as though they are floating.

Louis Vuitton approached mysticism – and inner power – from a different angle with its Mythica collection. Broken into chapters such as Enigma and Fortitude, creations such as the Mesmerism diamond-rope necklace set with a magnetic 17.18-carat Colombian emerald, and a choker of 25 golden pearls totalling 511.28 carats are certain to imbue the wearer with inner strength.


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High Jewellery

The year’s most dazzling high jewellery drops – from Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel and more

A model wears the new Bulgari Serpenti necklace and brooch, at the maison’s Eclettica high jewellery event in Milan in March. Photo: Handout

Louis Vuitton Mythica high jewellery Victory necklace. Photo: Handout

Chanel Signes & Symboles Talisman Contraste high jewellery ring. Photo: Handout

Cartier Tutti Kanya necklace, from Le Choeur des Pierres high jewellery collection. Photo: Handout

Messika Terres de Contrastes high jewellery. Photo: Handout

Boucheron Rain necklace, from the Carte Blanche 2026 high jewellery collection. Photo: Handout

Dior high jewellery Diorissima Lucky Flowers necklace. Photo: Handout

Tiffany & Co. Bloom necklace, from the Blue Book 2026 Hidden Garden collection. Photo: Handout

Chopard Butterfly, from the Red Carpet high jewellery collection. Photo: Handout

Cartier Haryma necklace, from Le Choeur des Pierres high jewellery collection. Photo: Handout

Chanel Imprimé Lion high jewellery necklace. Photo: Handout

Van Cleef & Arpels Fascinating Egypt high jewellery collection. Photo: Handout

Chanel, Cartier and a vintage Chevy: inside Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding raffle

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce reportedly gave the A-list attendees various luxury gifts at their wedding. Photos: @jackietranquill/Instagram; AP Photo 

Guests at Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding reportedly took home some luxurious prizes. Photo: EPA

Jackie Tranquill posted a photo of a Chanel handbag and a prize ticket marked with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding logo. Photo: @jackietranquill/Instagram

Taylor Swift wore a Cartier Santos Demoiselle in yellow gold with a diamond-set bezel in her engagement photos. Photo: @taylorswift/Instagram

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have not made a joint public appearance since their July 3 wedding. Photo: Getty Images

Bangle watches are back, with versions from Cartier, Gucci, Chanel, Bulgari and more

Chanel Première Galon. Photo: Handout

Cartier Baignoire. Photo: Handout

Gucci Play. Photo: Handout

Graff High Jewellery diamond and ruby watch. Photo: Handout

Bulgari Serpenti. Photo: Handout

Van Cleef & Arpels Perlée Toi & Moi secret watch. Photo: Handout

Tiffany HardWear. Photo: Handout

Paris Haute Couture Week 2026: Chanel spins a fairy tale, Armani Privé goes boudoir

Chanel built a fairy-tale set for its haute couture fall/winter 2026-27 show in Paris. Photo: AFP

The magical land created by Chanel for its haute couture fall/winter 2026-27 show. Photo: AFP

A watercolour artist on the set of the Chanel show. Photo: AFP

Chanel’s opening look was a new take on the maison’s classic tweed suit. Photo: AP

A dress embroidered with swan motifs in the Chanel show. Photo: AP

Liu Wen models a bolero jacket from Chanel. Photo: AFP

A pastel, lingerie-inspired look at Chanel. Photo: AP

Loose silhouettes dominated the Armani Privé show. Photo: AFP

Gowns stole the show at Armani Privé. Photo: AP

A long-sleeved sheer top in an animal print, paired with a velvet column skirt, at Armani Privé. Photo: AFP

Louis Vuitton’s new high jewellery collection, Mythica, depicts a heroine’s journey

Louis Vuitton’s new high jewellery collection, Mythica, was unveiled in Marrakech last week. Photo: Handout

The Conquest necklace from Louis Vuitton’s Mythica collection recalls the shape of arrows. Photo: Handout

A pair of earrings featuring the LV Monogram Star cut, from the Mythica collection. Photo: Handout

The Mesmerism brooch, crafted from white diamonds and a centrepiece emerald. Photo: Handout

The unveiling of the Louis Vuitton Mythica high jewellery collection in Marrakech. Photo: Handout

Bridgerton actress Phoebe Dynevor at the event. Photo: Handout

A necklace dripping with diamonds and sapphires, from the Whisper chapter. Photo: Handout

The Victory necklace features diamonds in different colours. Photo: Handout

A pink diamond, one of the many rare stones in the Mythica collection. Photo: Handout

Chinese singer Victoria Song was also at the Mythica collection launch. Photo: Handout

Rare emeralds are the show-stoppers in the Mesmerism chapter. Photo: Handout

The Victory necklace is embellished with a range of very rare coloured diamonds. Photo: Handout

The biggest high jewellery drops of 2025: from Louis Vuitton’s Virtuosity and Chanel’s Reach for the Stars, to Cartier’s En Équilibre and Tiffany & Co.’s Sea of Wonder

Tiffany & Co.’s Sea of Wonder. Photo: Handout

Emilia Clarke wears the Chaumet Wild Rose transformable necklace at the launch of the Jewels by Nature high jewellery collection in Marbella, Spain, in June. Photo: Handout

Individuality brooch from the De Beers Forces of Nature collection. Photo: Handout

Cartier En Équilibre Tsagaan necklace. Photo: Handout

The Wings of Chanel necklace, from the maison’s Reach for the Stars collection. Photo: Handout  

Tiffany & Co. Sea Turtle aquamarine brooch. Photo: Handout

Tiffany & Co. Seahorse purple sapphire brooch. Photo: Handout

Maestria necklace from the Louis Vuitton Virtuosity collection. Photo: Handout

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From Marrakech to the Riviera, the season saw the world’s biggest maisons unveil singular creations, vivid colour and symbolic motifs


From Marrakech to the Riviera, the season saw the world’s biggest maisons unveil singular creations, vivid colour and symbolic motifs.


The year’s most dazzling high jewellery drops – from Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel and more

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From Marrakech to the Riviera, the season saw the world’s biggest maisons unveil singular creations, vivid colour and symbolic motifs

From Marrakech to the Riviera, the season saw the world’s biggest maisons unveil singular creations, vivid colour and symbolic motifs