With summer in full swing and vibrant wardrobes all around, it's the perfect time to celebrate one of the most exquisite cardinal gems – the ruby. Known for its vibrant red colour, which ranges from pinkish to purplish red, this precious gemstone is ideal for everyday wear, boasting a hardness of nine on the Mohs scale, second only to diamonds. Rubies are often associated with love, passion, and power, and have inspired stunning high-jewellery creations from world-renowned houses for centuries. We were delighted to see rubies maintaining their position of power in the high jewellery world at the recent Paris Haute Couture Week, especially through the one-of-a-kind pieces described below…
Chaumet en Scène Precious Illusions Suite
Chaumet’s latest high jewellery collection, Chaumet en Scène, introduces the captivating Precious Illusions suite with four pieces adorned with Mozambique rubies and diamonds, creating an illusion of infinite reflections akin to the facets of a Venetian mirror. The centrepiece of this suite is a stunning necklace adorned with five oval Mozambique rubies, totalling over 15 carats. These vibrant raspberry-hued gems are set in white gold alongside oval-cut and brilliant-cut diamonds, as well as half-moon rubies. Complementing the necklace are earrings that play with optical illusions, featuring two cushion-cut rubies of 3.27 and 2.99 carats, along with two pear-shaped rubies that elegantly sit across the earlobe, accompanied by brilliant-cut diamonds. Lastly, an architectural ring glows with three cushion-cut Mozambique rubies, including a superb 4.79-carat centre stone. Playful and mysterious, the Precious Illusions suite embodies the enchanting allure of rubies in high jewellery, blending timeless elegance with innovative artistry.
David Morris Mystic Cove Collection Lagoon Earrings
The Lagoon Amaryllis earrings from David Morris's latest high jewellery collection, Mystic Cove, spotlight the brand's commitment to showcasing the finest rubies. Chief executive and Creative Director Jeremy Morris, inspired by a vibrant underwater world, crafted these exceptional earrings to bring attention to the unparalleled beauty of rubies. Featuring 37.59 carats of rare cushion-cut minerals from Mozambique, these precious gems are set in rose and white gold with white and pink diamonds. The combination of red and pink hues is a signature of the House of David Morris, with each colour enhancing the other's tones. The 2.86 carats of pink diamonds act as a mirror for the featured rubies, amplifying their warmth and brightness and showcasing their rich, unheated, and unique colour. The Lagoon Amaryllis earrings are a testament not only to the allure of rubies in high jewellery but also to the impressive level of artistry needed to create such a work of art.
Dior Joaillerie Diorama & Diorigami Ruby Suite
Amidst the flora and fauna fantasy world of Victoire de Castellane’s latest high jewellery collection for Dior Joaillerie, Diorama & Diorigami, one ruby-centric suite caught our eye. Reimagining Dior’s iconic Toile de Jouy print from 1947 in red, pink, and golden hues, this suite features four pieces crafted in pink gold, each adorned with an impressive red ruby. The necklace showcases a stunning 7.02-carat gem, while the ring features a 4.87-carat mineral. The bracelet is adorned with a 2.08-carat ruby, and the earrings boast rubies weighing 3.33 and 3.06 carats. Each gem is surrounded by a gradient of warm-coloured stones, creating a rich, flamboyant look with dark and light pink sapphires, pink and red rubies, red lacquer, diamonds, and cultured pearls. These pieces call to mind a gemstone forest, filled with hand-engraved leaves resting on golden tree trunks. Rich in colour, yet maintaining the central rubies as the main characters, each piece in this suite is proof positive of the exquisite craftsmanship and artistic vision of Dior Joaillerie.
Graff Ruby and Diamond Suite
At Paris Haute Couture week, Graff unveiled a breathtaking ruby and diamond suite inspired by the light and technical brilliance of avant-garde architectural movements, embodying the House’s ethos of innovation within the design atelier. This collection pays homage to the rich, exuberant colour of rare Mozambique rubies, renowned for their significant value and the fact that many do not require heat treatment, unlike rubies from other locations. The suite includes a choker, earrings, bracelet, and ring, each crafted to highlight the extraordinary beauty of these gemstones. The choker features 32.46 carats of cushion-cut rubies interlaced with emerald-cut and round diamonds, set in white gold, totalling 93.78 carats of diamonds. The bracelet echoes this intricate motif with 11.72 carats of cushion-cut rubies alongside 20.88 carats of round white diamonds. The earrings, arranged in a more floral pattern, use 9.73 carats of cushion-cut rubies and 5.79 carats of diamonds, adding a gentle aesthetic to their architectural counterparts. Finally, the ring, perhaps the simplest in design, features a stunning 5.56-carat cushion-cut ruby, flanked by two heart-shaped white diamonds, symbolising the brand’s love for this expressive and passionate gem. This suite represents Graff’s relentless pursuit of the world’s most extraordinary gems, capturing the essence of luxury and elegance in every piece.
Louis Vuitton Awakened Hands, Awakened Minds Splendeur Suite
In celebration of French craftsmanship and innovation, Louis Vuitton's 2024 High Jewellery Collection, ‘Awakened Hands, Awakened Minds’, pays homage to the nation's rich heritage of savoir-faire. The Splendeur suite, a highlight of this collection, draws inspiration from the intricate, lace-like patterns of an imperial bed’s woodwork carvings, featuring over 110 meticulously matched rubies. Central to this suite is a transformable high-collar necklace, adorned with 52 rubies, the largest array ever set on a single Louis Vuitton jewel. Framed by a complex mesh of carved gold flowers, the necklace is a testament to the Maison's craftsmanship, involving 17 setters, 30 jewellers, and over 3,217 hours of work to mount 2,400 individual elements. These Mozambique rubies are notable not only for their vivid colour and saturation but also for their traceability, fully traceable thanks to blockchain technology, making Louis Vuitton the first Maison to offer such a guarantee for coloured stones. The Splendeur collection exemplifies Louis Vuitton’s commitment to blending traditional artistry with modern innovation, capturing the essence of luxury and heritage in each exquisite piece.
As you can see, rubies are being used by leading high jewellery houses to bring their most fantastical and visionary designs to life, drawing inspiration from the ocean's depths, the branches of beautiful forests, theatre stages, and historic artistic movements. These exquisitely elegant gemstones have become central to creations that embody both innovation and tradition. We eagerly anticipate more breathtaking ruby releases this summer, showcasing the timeless allure and vibrant beauty of these extraordinary gems.
