Google “jewelry advent calendar” and it’s clear: The idea, as introduced by Tiffany in 2019, has transitioned from novelty item in extremis to holiday-season mainstay. There are plenty of delightful options available this year (examples here and here). And even a certain big-box store—I’m not linking to it, sorry—has quite a few 12- and 24-piece jewelry gift sets for less than what you’d spend on a DoorDash delivery.
In contrast, two new boxed sets created by jewelry designer Silvia Furmanovich in collaboration with Mellerio, the French jewelry house founded in 1613, stand out as the ultimate manifestation of this “novelty.” At $295,600 each, the price alone places them in a category of indescribable luxury.
Neither box is an advent calendar, but conceptually—and given the holiday timing—they feel akin to one. Not quite a sister but maybe a (ridiculously well-off) cousin who lives in Paris.
Instead of multiple compartments that each contain a daily gift in the run-up to Dec. 25, the treasures in the Silvia Furmanovich x Mellerio boxes—named A Queen’s Spring and Butterflies in Flight—are revealed at once. As soon as you open the lid, in fact…
Inside are 10 of Mellerio’s Color Queen rings, a recent introduction from the Paris-based maison that once counted Marie Antoinette as a client. Playing to the design codes that define the company’s 400-year history, these jewels reflect the vision of president and artistic director Laure-Isabelle Mellerio, who drew inspiration from the chromatic palette of the Italian Renaissance and the cultural impact it had on France.
The Renaissance inspiration nods to the Mellerio family’s heritage: Joined by a general influx of influential Italian painters, architects, and artisans, the first Mellerios came to France during the reign of King François I; their descendants founded the business after receiving an official royal warrant from Marie de Médicis in 1613.
Regal in feel, and embracing unique color combinations, the rings capture the ornate details, richness, and splendor of the Renaissance era with vibrant sapphires, tanzanites, indicholite, mint garnets, tsavorites, and other stones amid interlaced and braided metalwork.
Meanwhile, the boxes are typical of Furmanovich’s affinity for transforming jewels and objects into captivating works of art through the use of centuries-old, and often exotic, marquetry techniques. Each box’s interior is finished in France.
A Queen’s Spring, inspired by antique Japanese folding screens and depicing a garden of chrysanthemums, points to Furmanovich’s enduring fascination with East Asian motifs.
The Butterflies in Flight box is described by her team as “a meditation on movement and metamorphosis.” The winged insect, a recurring symbol in Furmanovich’s work, is rendered here in vibrant colors and shimmering textures.
Both box designs incorporate intricately layered marquetry and sculpted wooden cabochons set in precious metals to echo the shape and intensity of the Color Queen rings’ center stones. To order one of the boxes or connect with a retailer offering them, inquire on Mellerio’s website.
The boxes are intended to be viewed as a “dialogue” between Furmanovich and Laure-Isabelle Mellerio—two creative women with unique visions of artistry, jewelry design, color stories, and the natural world. Both have indicated that this endeavor could be the first phase of an ongoing collaboration, suggesting there is more to come.
But for a certain kind of collector, these display-worthy “storage solutions”—and the riches they contain—might be as good as it gets. All day, every day.
Top: Butterflies in Flight is one of two boxes designed by Silvia Furmanovich that’s home to a set of 10 gold-and-gemstone rings from Mellerio, a heritage jewelry house headquartered on Rue de la Paix in Paris.
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