Dior Joaillerie’s Artistic Director, Victoire de Castellane, has become quite adept at channelling facets of the Maison’s heritage into new, colourful high jewellery collections. Since 1999, she’s taken both a literal and figurative deep dive into the Dior archives to pull out the threads that can be woven into coloured gemstones, diamonds and precious metals… Diorama & Diorigami is no different! The new collection is described as a “subtle interlude between yesterday and today,” which is achieved through a yesteryear countryside flair inspired by toile de Jouy– a traditional decorative pattern featuring a repeating pastoral motif, typically in a single colour. So far, we have been presented with Diorama, which flits somewhere between A Midsummer Night’s Dream, floral prints, and 18th-century fabrications. In fact, we’re told that toile de Jouy played a significant role in Christian Dior’s original boutique, Colifichets, which was furnished (the walls, counters and canopy) in this ornamental fabric.
In reality, the Diorama High Jewellery offering presents miniature jewelled frescoes that don’t stray too far from the floral inspirations of Monsieur Dior’s Milly-la-Forêt garden. There are golden branches dusted with gemstone blossoms, carved and diamond-set squirrels, fawns and rabbits nestled in foliage, and majestic swans floating on blue sapphire ponds. Coloured stones are in abundance, including rubies, sapphires, black opals, turquoises, tsavorite garnets, and emeralds, all contrasted with the sparkle of diamonds of the creamy lustre of pearls. Special mention must go to the use of saturated milky-green chrysoprase, although more on that later, which adds a touch of something different to what we typically expect from Dior.
Although the woodland storytelling is apparent, the real crux of this collection is its use of specific techniques of craftsmanship - glyptic, lacquer and various gold working methods – often used in tandem to create a three-dimensional miniature scene (hence, the name ‘Diorama’). The integration of animals like rabbits, owls, swans, foxes, squirrels and deer is a first for Dior Joaillerie, so it is exciting to see the brand stepping into new creative spheres! This is best witnessed in the Diorama Foret Enchantée set, which was produced at the Dior Joaillerie workshop at 30 Avenue Montaigne and required more than 4,700 hours of work. The focal point of the necklace is a 16.16-carat Colombian emerald, surrounded by further emeralds, tsavorite garnets, diamonds and pearls; however, it’s the glyptic chrysoprase animals that set it apart. Each is captured in full three-dimensional form as if caught sleeping under a canopy of leaves or mid-leap. Glyptic – the art of sculpting and carving ornamental stones – is an ancient craft that’s used with modern sensibilities here. The finishing touch is the use of engraved yellow gold to form leaves and branches, as well as mirror-polished gold on the reverse side to create an interesting contrast for the wearer. The same aesthetic is carried through in a ring with a sleeping fawn and a pair of earrings with animated squirrels, both with emeralds.
Lacquer also plays a big role in this collection, which is unsurprising considering the House’s long-standing love affair with this colourful technique. Victoire de Castellane explains: “I like to bring colours together, whether they harmonise or clash, each one of them sparkling with a thousand and one lights. Daring to make chromatic combinations seems to me to be the best anti-depressant in the world! It gives energy. It’s fundamental for me that jewels look alive.” Throughout Diorama, we can see lacquered, hand-engraved leaves, often matching perfectly with nearby gemstones, that enhance the magical effect of the collection… pieces are realistic but with a Disney-style twist. This is especially apparent in a necklace with a 7.02 carat Mozambique ruby, six further oval-cut rubies, and marquise-cut ruby and pink sapphire ‘trees’, surrounded by diamonds, pearls, red lacquered leaves, a pavé hedgehog and lacquered owls.
One of the most important throughlines in the collection is the Maison’s approach to goldwork, including hand-engraving to add patterns, depth and texture. Firstly, there’s ‘pricked’ gold that’s hammered and tweaked on the front to mimic the texture of tree branches. According to the brand, this technique was originally developed for the Rose Dior collection and has since evolved into a go-to when desiring a more naturalistic finish. Next, there’s mirror-polished gold that’s used on the inner side of pieces to create “an elegant play of light” while also ensuring a smooth, comfortable finish. Our favourite, however, must be sand-blasted gold, which emerged in Victoire de Castellane’s mind as an “impalpably fine gold net”. This technique was used to add texture on the inside and outside of the golden net seen in the Diorama Résille Dorée set by “projecting abrasive corundum balls at high speed until the desired finish is achieved”. The result is something quite three-dimensional, with a layer of openwork gold, diamond-set flowers, miniature birds and golden tree branches throughout.
Other elements of the Diorama & Diorigami collection worth noting are the injection of high jewellery belts, interchangeable bracelets/anklets with pearls, diamonds, and coloured stones, and three headpieces. Although not for everyone, these more unusual creations will sit alongside a core selection of brooches for the adventurous high jewellery customer who wants something different. It will be interesting to see how this develops over time! Finally, let’s spare a thought for the next chapter of the story – the Diorigami collection. Whereas Diorama follows a more literal interpretation of nature, Diorigami is abstract in its approach. “It presents a jeweller’s take on the Japanese paper-folding art of origami, but also on the couture technique of pleating,” the Maison explains. So far, only one Diorigami set has been unveiled, consisting of a necklace, a ring and a pair of earrings, complete with green malachite leaves and coloured stones edged in corresponding lacquer (such as pink sapphires with pink lacquer and ruby-set ladybirds edged in red lacquer).
So, what do you make of this latest Dior collection? Certainly, the introduction of sculpted gemstone animals is something unexpected and actually quite beautiful, especially when paired with buttery yellow gold that’s textured to perfection. Perhaps we need to see both sides of the coin – Diorama and Diorigami – so truly appreciate the whimsical and geometric qualities of both. Hopefully, there it won’t be too long to wait until these new pieces reveal themselves.
