For Boucheron’s latest high jewelry release, the Parisian brand’s creative director, Claire Choisne, has reinterpreted a single silhouette with different gemstones, highlighting what makes each piece special as well as how it connects to the collection overall.
Boucheron said the new collection, Human Being, is best understood through its tagline of “Looking at what connects us, then drawing closer to discover what sets us apart.” Choisne has taken an archetypal high jewelry form—the cluster necklace—and paired it with a ring in five Human Being sets.
“This year, the creative director makes the case that in an ever more artificial world, what is truly precious is humanity,” Boucheron said in a statement. “Choisne is a jeweler by training, with a keen appreciation for the technical mastery that only human hands can attain. She believes that nothing will ever supplant human creativity and artisanal craftsmanship.”
In a cluster necklace, the grouped stones create a unified composition. Choisne used a different gemstone for each set, giving it a distinct theme and color. “Each one calls upon a different savoir-faire,” said Boucheron. “Subtle nuances emerge: a play of volume, gemstones and light, like so many expressions of our individuality.”
The creation of Human Being was itself a testament to savoir-faire: Craftspeople invested more than 14,000 hours of their technical expertise and artistry to make the five sets, according to the maison.
In marketing Human Being, Boucheron honors both the similarities and differences of the five sets. The still images have a uniform look: Models are attired in the same white shirt, holding the same posture and looking straight at the camera. This pared-back aesthetic shows what they have in common, Boucheron said.
In videos, the models show emotion. The expressions in their faces and movements make each person a work of art, just like the jewelry they wear, the brand said.
Here are more details on each of the five Human Being sets: Rain, Flower, Light, Tattoo, and Checkers.
Rain
This set offers the illusion of a cascade of diamonds raining down on the skin. The transparent “droplets” are made of rock crystal set in white gold, and they’re filled with thousands of diamonds for the three-dimensional effect.
Flower
Featuring 3.26 cts. t.w. cushion-cut diamonds, this set uses individually painted rose quartz stones—set in pink gold, white gold, and platinum—to represent every stage of a flower’s blossoming, from a bud to fully unfurled petals.
Light
Harmony and complexity: Diamonds were set directly into perfectly matched morganites—a delicate, labor-intensive process because morganite is a vibration-sensitive stone. And it required the most hours of work (over 3,700) of any of the Human Being suites. The Light necklace holds a 1.34 ct. troidia-cut diamond and is set in pink gold and platinum.
Tattoo
In this set, Choisne mimics the look of tattoos through smoky quartz in white gold. She was inspired by Victorian-era tattoos, in such favorite Boucheron motifs as the rose, poppy, and butterfly. The necklace has a 1.74 ct. troidia-cut diamond at top.
Checkers
Choisne loves houndstooth, and the pattern is represented here through engraved onyx. Boucheron used a laser to create precise designs in the gemstone without heating it. The challenge was to go deep enough but not weaken the onyx, and all 163 stones in the necklace were individually designed and treated. There’s a total of 1,535 cts. onyx, along with a 2.63 ct. troidia-cut diamond.
Top: Flower rose quartz necklace in Boucheron’s new Human Being collection (photos courtesy of Boucheron)
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