Jewel of the Month: Taking Flight with The Gift of Love Necklace by Graff 

Paris Haute Couture Week is so full of exceptional jewellery creations that it is often tricky to pick a single ‘favourite’ piece out of the sparkling din. However, on this occasion, there was a particular jewel that captured the imagination – The Gift of Love necklace – and reminded us all why Graff is the big star of the diamond scene. Let’s examine this feat of jewellery artisanship and celebrate its status as our ‘Jewel of the Month’ for February 2025. 

The first thing to know about The Gift of Love is that it took 6,000 hours to complete. To put that into perspective, we are talking 250 days, the equivalent of 37 weeks or nine months. In this time, Graff has indeed birthed a high jewellery masterpiece – an intricately detailed, beautifully structural, yet astonishingly fluid necklace set with 125 carats of diamonds. Of course, this doesn’t include the time spent conceptualising, designing, and planning the necklace, which takes the total time spent to three years. It’s a good reminder that true artistry requires patience, foresight, and the ability to drown out external factors (imagine seeing three years’ worth of high jewels from other houses knowing this was in production) to pursue a singular vision. 

So, what’s the story behind The Gift of Love? It’s inspired by the idea of capturing a moment in time, in this case, the meeting of two delicate sparrows that represent love, togetherness and hope. In Greek mythology, sparrows are often associated with Aphrodite, the goddess of love, with the birds circling around her or perched on her shoulder as a representation of beauty and romance. Rather than following this whimsical pathway, Graff has chosen a more structural and orderly silhouette for The Gift of Love – a classical torque-style shape – that sits neatly around the neck and rests on the collar bones. The tapered rows of round brilliant-cut and custom-cut baguette diamonds are evocative of one large feather, or perhaps the flight pathways of the sparrows themselves as if captured in slow motion. 

The stars of the show are the two sparrows… I like to think of them as both chasing the juiciest prize imaginable: a 13.51-carat fancy intense yellow pear-shaped diamond. One sparrow clutches the gem in its onyx beak, its body and wings streamlined in flight. The other is captured in a more dynamic beating of wings, almost as if it is trying to slow on approach to the golden treasure it perceives below. What’s clear is that both birds have their vibrant blue sapphire eyes firmly fixed on the pristine yellow diamond between them. 

In total, the piece contains 2,305 pear-shaped, round brilliant and baguette-cut diamonds, each one set in an articulated 18k white gold framework. “We are delighted to finally unveil this new high jewellery masterpiece – a creation which embodies our unwavering passion, commitment and dedication to designing and crafting the most fabulous jewels in the world,” says Graff Chief Executive Officer Francois Graff. 

“Every detail was meticulously planned and considered to ensure that the finished piece is not only extraordinarily beautiful but also imbued with astonishing life and energy.”

The principle of articulation is important here. Graff takes its ability to construct flexible and fluid high jewels seriously, as Francois Graff explains: “For 65 years, we have consistently pioneered the use of new and innovative techniques that continue to transform the industry, allowing for far greater articulation in jewellery than has ever previously been thought possible.” What this means for the wearer is that rather than feeling rigid and cumbersome, the 125 carats of diamonds in The Gift of Love feel like they are floating around the neck, perhaps not weightless, but certainly not weighed down.

This necklace has so much to commend it: the plethora of custom-cut white diamonds, the articulation, the romance, the mythological storytelling, and a whopping 13.51-carat fancy colour diamond that will never fall out of style. It is for all of these reasons that we have chosen The Gift of Love as our Jewel of the Month, and trust us when we tell you, it is even more sensational in person!