Legacy of Colour: David Morris’ New High Jewellery Collection is a Riot of Rare Hues
Nobody does colour quite like David Morris. Under the creative direction of Jeremy Morris, the London jewellery house has spent decades amassing one of the world’s finest gemstone inventories. This January in Paris, just some of these remarkable stones were unveiled in the new high jewellery collection Legacy of Colour. Featuring some of the rarest hues Mother Nature has to offer, it brings together the most coveted colours sought by collectors today.
From saturated Purplish Pink diamonds and electric-blue Paraiba tourmalines to Colombian emeralds and coloured diamonds of every description, the collection draws its strength from colour. Historic gems sit alongside once-in-a-lifetime discoveries, reflecting Mr Morris’ deep-rooted appreciation for the brightest and most beautiful stones.
The Harmonia High Jewellery necklace with 43.65ct of pear shape white diamonds, 20.02ct of round, oval and marquise white diamonds and 9.58ct of mixed shape pink diamonds set in 18ct white and rose gold
A House Built on Colour
Colour is not treated as a hierarchy at David Morris. Emeralds, sapphires and rubies sit comfortably alongside more unusual finds. This approach has allowed the House to champion gems such as Paraiba tourmalines, cobalt blue spinels and Padparadscha sapphires well ahead of wider market attention.
Coloured diamonds have also long been a speciality, and here, too, the language is shifting. In Legacy of Colour, a full spectrum of Fancy hues comes into play, highlighting a growing fascination with nuance through subtle tonal differences, secondary hues and saturation levels.
Fancy Purplish Pink diamonds are used in the Harmonia high jewellery necklace and earrings for their exceptional vibrancy
I’ve never been interested in playing it safe with colour,” says Jeremy Morris. “Legacy of Colour comes from years spent living with extraordinary gemstones. That experience allows us to take this instinct further with each new High Jewellery creation.
Harmonia High Jewellery earrings with 5.03ct and 5.01ct D colour pear shape white diamond drops, 6.50ct of pear shape white diamonds, 2.36ct of mixed shape white diamonds and 1.47ct of mixed shape pink diamonds set in 18ct white and rose gold
Signature Pink Diamonds, Made More Intense
Few houses are as closely associated with pink diamonds as David Morris, and Legacy of Colour revisits that signature with renewed intensity. The focus here is on Purplish Pink diamonds – stones in which a subtle secondary purple hue deepens the pink, giving the colour exceptional vibrancy.
This is most apparent in the Prisma bangle, where the Purplish Pink diamonds deliver a concentrated blast of colour, intensified by the cool contrast of white diamonds. The Harmonia suite takes a more classical route design-wise, yet it still feels very contemporary. Pear-shape white diamonds totalling more than 40 carats are set beside 9.58 carats of mixed shape Fancy Purplish Pink diamonds, enough that the pink no longer plays a supporting role and becomes central to the design.
In the Prima cuff, Purplish Pink diamonds deliver a concentrated blast of colour, intensified by the cool contrast of white diamonds
Prisma High Jewellery cuff with 15.06ct of round pink diamonds, 20.26ct of lozenge shape white diamonds and 11.68ct of round white diamonds set in 18ct rose and white gold
Familiar Stones, Reframed
Emeralds and sapphires may be familiar territory in High Jewellery, but here they are taken out of their comfort zone. In the Amazonica earrings, two oval Colombian emeralds weighing 18.41 and 18.17 carats form part of a radiating geometric design that pushes their vivid green colour outwards, making the stones appear even larger and bolder.
Amazonica High Jewellery earrings with 18.41ct and 18.17ct oval Colombian emerald centre stones, 6.98ct Fancy shape emeralds, 6.07ct of emerald cut emeralds and 8.29ct of mixed shape diamonds set in 18ct white gold
It takes a certain confidence to place blue sapphires and Paraiba tourmalines side by side, visually and materially. The Abacus bangle does exactly that, combining unheated oval Ceylon and Madagascan sapphires with Paraibas in a colour pairing now synonymous with the House. It’s a combination that speaks as much to access as it does to judgement, with the task of finding and matching so many sapphires from different origins a feat in itself.
Abacus High Jewellery cuff with 75.79ct of unheated oval sapphires, 16.66ct of round Brazilian Paraiba tourmalines and 10.51ct of round diamonds set in 18ct white gold
Colour, Viewed Through a Different Prism
Several of the most striking pieces in the collection show the David Morris palette at its most liberated. Nowhere is this clearer than in the Fearne necklace and earrings, where an unusually broad spectrum of Fancy coloured diamonds is brought together, with blue-greens, deep greens, intense purplish pinks and warm yellowish oranges set side by side. Despite the breadth of hues, the colours are harmonious, suggesting a long and meticulous process of selection and placement.
In the Fearne necklace, an unusually broad spectrum of Fancy coloured diamonds is brought together, with blue-greens, deep greens, intense purplish pinks and warm yellowish oranges set side by side
Fearne High Jewellery necklace with 21.19ct white diamonds, 0.89ct green diamonds, 0.58ct blue diamonds, 3.45ct pink diamonds and 0.66ct of Fancy colour diamonds set in 18ct white and rose gold
Fearne High Jewellery earrings with 4.93ct of white diamonds, 1.66ct of orange diamonds, 1.29ct of pink diamonds, 0.41ct of yellow diamonds and 0.13ct of Fancy colour diamonds set in 18ct white and rose gold
The Kismet earrings reveal a similarly free-spirited approach to colour, bringing together diamonds in a constellation of different hues. Clustered above two mismatched drop-shaped natural pearls, everything about these earrings is incredibly rare, yet the overriding impression is one of playfulness. While the composition is unconventional, it feels so natural that the sheer improbability of these gems coming together in a single creation is momentarily forgotten.
Kismet High Jewellery earrings with a 25.72ct natural greyish-brown pearl, 22.90ct natural white pearl, 4.34ct pink diamonds, 3.17ct yellow diamonds, 0.75ct orange diamonds, 0.65ct blue diamonds, 0.16ct red diamonds, 0.23ct grey diamonds and 7.42ct white diamonds set in 18ct rose and white gold
When Rare Colour Guides the Design
The collection’s most arresting moment comes when colour appears in an entirely unexpected place. A 41.30 carat natural pearl crowns the Queen of the Sea ring, the largest known near-spherical natural pearl in the world, but it is not its scale alone that makes it so extraordinary. The pearl displays a prismatic orient, a luminous, rainbow-like iridescence found in only a tiny fraction of pearls.
Appearing almost exclusively in fine natural pearls with exceptionally thick nacre, flashes of green, pink and orange ripple across the pearl’s surface. Those shifting tones became the blueprint for the design, echoed in the pear shape Fancy green, pink and orange diamonds set either side of the pearl.
The 41.30 carat natural pearl crowning the Queen of the Sea ring is the largest known near-spherical natural pearl in the world
Finally, the Radiant Lotus ring. Set with an unheated 23.41 carat oval Ceylon Padparadscha sapphire, it’s one of those stones that immediately captures your attention. Jeremy Morris has described it as “the finest Padparadscha I’ve ever owned”, and looking at it, it’s easy to understand why. Set in warm rose gold and with pink diamonds as the supporting act, the design feels like a homage to the colour of the Padparadscha – the perfect balance of pink and orange that collectors look for.
The Radiant Lotus ring is set with an unheated 23.41 carat oval Ceylon Padparadscha sapphire, described by Jeremy Morris as “the finest Padparadscha I’ve ever owned”
It’s a fitting finale to a small but perfectly formed High Jewellery collection, built on decades of gemstone expertise and a deep love for colour. Each jewel is a hero piece in its own right, and proudly so.
WORDS
Claire Roberts has been writing about jewellery and watches for more than 20 years. She is a seasoned journalist who joined the team 5 years ago as a contributing writer and a newsletter editor.
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