Precious Interplay: Exploring a High Jewellery Interpretation of Freccia by Vhernier

There is an interesting phenomenon in high jewellery: it is often much harder to create a collection that is simple in design but striking than one that is striking because it is enriched with a plethora of decorative details. This is what I was thinking while standing before Vhernier's new high jewellery interpretation of its Freccia collection. You might already know its daily wear variations, but this time the Maison’s Creative Director, Isabella Traglio, has taken it up a notch by transforming these fine designs into five one-of-a-kind sets. Let’s take a closer look.

I have followed this Italian house for years, admiring its sculptural sensibility and its refusal to follow the predictable rhythms of the jewellery world. Last year, I wrote about its Ardis High Jewellery collection, which featured eight variations of a collar necklace with futuristic silhouettes and sparkling surfaces of pavé gems. This new collection, a high jewellery elevation of the Freccia motif, felt like coming home because it featured what I love about Vhernier: voluminous design, perfectly set pavé and the Trasparenze gemstone technique.

Freccia has arrived at a fascinating moment for Vhernier, with the Maison recently opening new boutiques in Beijing and Shanghai, inside the Peninsula hotels, marking a significant expansion into mainland China. Alongside iconic lines like Abbraccio and Palloncino, Freccia now takes centre stage in a way that feels fresh and exciting.

Before we dive into the novelties, let’s rewind back to 2014 when Freccia was born. Isabella’s idea was to reinvent the triangle as a symbol of ideal balance and harmony. She explains: “Last year we had Ardis - a very different motif featuring two metals with diamonds and titanium or aluminium, and it was quite rock [and roll] and brave. This time I wanted to go in the opposite direction and do something very romantic, and that is why we called it ‘Freccia,’ which in Italian means narrow, like the point of an arrow.”

The Maison's master craftsmen followed her vision and sculpted the triangular elements into flowing forms, achieving angles that are smooth and rounded. As a result, the pieces feel organic, almost gentle against the skin, yet they carry a distinct architectural presence, a rhythm that repeats and echoes across necklaces, rings, earclips and bracelets.

What I found so compelling about the novelties is the way Isabella transformed a familiar motif into something strong that commands attention using Vhernier's signature Trasparenze technique. Trying on the pieces transported me back 10 years to the unforgettable moment in Vhernier’s Valenza workshops when I was introduced to every step of the Transparenze process and even carved my own rock crystal Palancino – an iconic collection with balloon motifs made with the same methodology.

Although working with layers of gems is not new for Vhernier, a small challenge arose when creating this collection: how to create pastel and at the same time intense colours. To achieve this, Vhernier’s master jewellers placed hand-sculpted rock crystal over a translucent layer of mother-of-pearl covering coloured gemstones: lapis lazuli, black jade and green jade.

“Usually, we use very strong colours like jade with ruby or sapphire, whereas this time the colours had to be softer and more delicate,” Isabella tells me. “We tried so many colours to see which ones fitted the collection best. The result made us so happy, especially the black jade combined with mother of pearl, which gives this mysterious grey colour.”

This ‘sandwich’ creates a luminous effect that draws you in and makes you question what is glowing beneath the crystal dome. You really have to see Freccia in person to watch how light travels through the dome and dances across the surface beneath. Isabella continues: “We used triplets, because we wanted to achieve something romantic and smooth rather than bright and strong.”

What you might not know about the collection is that the lapis lazuli colour was not the first choice for the design. “Initially, we tried to use abalone shell, but we did not know that if you cover abalone with rock crystal, the look becomes all wavy, like a tapestry, so it was not what we expected, and we swapped it with lapis instead,” Isabella shares.

To achieve her goals, she worked on the collection a couple of years in advance, allowing enough time to change, adjust and test everything. She says: “We also had to adjust the connections and links because some elements were too fragile and moved too much. We had to experiment with them further to make them comfortable, because you must have movement in the pieces, but not too much.”

All these efforts were worth it, ensuring each jewel is comfortable and fits like a glove. There was also one thing that I noticed when trying the jewels: the earrings fit perfectly despite their statement design, and they hugged the ear firmly without hurting it. This perfection took a while to achieve, and Isabella explained to me how they did it: “We studied the weight from the very beginning, from the planning and engineering phase, and we tried to make everything as light as possible.”

For this collection, Vhernier’s jewellers hollowed out the inside of the pieces to make them lighter. When I turned the earrings around, I noticed holes in the back of them. Seeing my puzzled expression, Isabella explained: “The three holes you see are there to polish the inside, because otherwise the diamonds would be dulled and lack sparkle.”

As you see, under Isabella’s creative direction, Vhernier has maintained its commitment to sculptural aesthetics while pushing the boundaries of what jewellery can be. There is no rushing, no compromise. What I admire about Traglio's vision is her refusal to chase trends. Freccia was not born from a desire to follow fashion; it is an expression of something timeless.

If you ever have the chance to see Freccia in person, take it. Hold it up to the light. Watch how the rock crystal transforms the colour beneath it, how the shadows move like clouds across the sky. I promise you, it is magic.