Belle Dior: A Haute Joaillerie Fairytale Where Fringes Dance and Gemstones Bloom

In the rarefied world of haute joaillerie, where artistry meets audacity, few names conjure as potent a blend of legacy and fantasy as Dior. For its 2026 high jewellery collection, the French Maison unveiled Belle Dior, a 57-piece collection of one-of-a-kind pieces. While observing the designs displayed as sets, I found myself thinking that, once again, they had become a delicate yet powerful fusion of Christian Dior’s dearest passions and Victoire de Castellane’s boundless imagination.

My second thought was that, although brand new, Belle Dior was also so familiar, it was like ‘coming home’. The motifs that embellished necklaces, statement rings, ear climbers, and bangles have become Dior Joaillerie DNA over the years. If you follow Victoire’s work, you know what I am talking about: precious lace, flora and fauna, as well as celestial bodies. Monsieur Dior always carried a string of lucky charms, and a star was among them. So, the novelties unfold across three interwoven themes: moons and stars, flowers, and the couture clothing universe. Victoire de Castellane, a master storyteller in gems, weaves these threads together with wonderful sensitivity, demonstrating her strong connection with the couturier.

New Direction

One interesting thing that stood out at first glance is that the collection announces a subtle yet significant shift in movement and form. I remember how past collections were often defined by overlapping, horizontal braids and a sense of dynamic, almost architectural layering. Now, Belle Dior introduces a new cadence: verticality. The emblematic braids of ‘Galons Dior’ and ‘Dior Délicat’ have been reinterpreted into swaying fringes and tassels. Adorned with shimmering pear-shaped gems that catch the light with every gesture, they evoke the gentle rustle of couture fabric, the delicate bend of a flower stem, or the trailing sparkle of a falling star. This vertical motion brings an unexpected suppleness and a fresh, romantic energy to the pieces, making them feel alive on the wearer.

Hero Piece

Verticality is beautifully explored in the Soleil Céleste necklace, which forms part of the collection’s hero suite. It is embellished with a variety of gems crowned by a fancy vivid yellow pear-shaped diamond of 5.77 carats - a sun captured in stone. It would be fair to say that it stands as a testament to human dedication, as this necklace took 2,300 hours to make - a staggering figure that speaks to the complexity of its design. When you see the set in front of you, it is easy to understand why: a wide variety of techniques and hundreds of separate elements were used to bring this masterpiece to life. Every link, every setting, every invisible clasp was perfected by hand, resulting in a piece that is not merely worn, but experienced.

In the Soleil Céleste suite, Victoire de Castellane pays homage to Dior’s fascination with the divinatory arts. Here, radiant suns are crafted from yellow diamonds, mysterious moons from black opal doublets set against turquoise, and stars from brilliant white diamonds. These talismanic pieces - a bib necklace, transformable bracelet, ring, earrings, and a brooch that doubles as a hair accessory - are not just adornments but amulets, capturing the magic and mystery of the cosmos.

Flora Focus

Meanwhile, an imaginary flora runs rampant in a range of designs. I was particularly drawn to the Galons Printemps necklace with two central opals (Victoire’s favourite stones), flanked by a rainbow of coloured gemstones in a kaleidoscopic array of shapes, cuts and settings. Floral motifs embellish other jewels too, including pieces set with minute pearls, garnets, sapphires, emeralds, and rubies. A stand-out set worth mentioning is Franges de Fleurs, which leads with a majestic necklace set with a 9.13-carat Zambian emerald, diamonds, pearls and ruby blossoms. And perhaps most emblematic of Victoire’s whimsical genius is the exceptional solitaire ring featuring a 6.50-carat cushion-cut pink spinel from Tanzania. The stone itself is metamorphosed into a flower, seamlessly surrounded by pear-shaped white opal petals and pastel pavé, which served as a perfect metaphor for the collection itself.

Fashion Influence

The couture inspiration is felt in every asymmetrical line and fluid drape of stones. Pieces look as though they were snipped by a couturier’s scissors with cascades of gemstones mimicking fabric folds and abstract forms celebrating the house’s sartorial heritage. Couture influence was also evident in the way jewellery can be worn: the Soleil Céleste bracelet can be transformed into a choker, and the brooch from the same collection can be worn as a hairpiece. I particularly loved sophisticated ear climbers with turquoise and sapphires, as well as statement cocktail rings spreading across two fingers.

Extraordinary Craftsmanship 

Now, I talked a lot about the beauty of the designs, but I was also looking for the unique techniques that have always been a part of Dior Joaillerie’s strengths. The technical challenge of creating pieces that are structurally sound yet ethereally light, where fringes move freely without constraint, was met with ingenious solutions. If you look at the set I keep coming back to - Soleil Céleste – you will notice almost invisible, discreet bridges connecting elements, also known as the ‘knife edge setting’. They ensure that gems look like they are floating in the air. The same set serves as an example of grosgrain artistry where the edges of hearts, stars, and moons are meticulously finished by hand with this textile-inspired technique, lending a subtle, tactile texture.

Never Seen Before

As I was finishing this article, I had a flashback – me standing in front of a set with a gorgeous, richly red rubellite, thinking that something felt a little different there. It turned out this feeling wasn’t without reason, as it was the first time I saw Victoire de Castellane use sugarloaf gemstones in a high jewellery collection (the second necklace featured a tanzanite). These domed, minimalist gems echo the voluminous jewels of grand society balls, adding a touch of graphic modernity and glorious colour saturation to the romantic ensemble, don’t you think?

Belle Dior is a bold, beautiful, and brilliantly executed declaration that in the house of Dior, the most precious thing they continue to craft is a dream. It invites us into a world where jewellery is not weighed down by its carats but elevated by its poetry. It is a fairytale where gardens bloom with gemstones, stars are plucked from the sky to adorn a neckline, and the very essence of couture is distilled into gold and enamel. In the hands of Victoire de Castellane, the legacy of Christian Dior is not a museum piece but a living, breathing, sparkling source of wonder.