Latest news with #Mellerio
New York Times
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Marie Antoinette Inspires a Gem-Laden Necklace
In July 2023, Laure-Isabelle Mellerio, the president and artistic director of the Mellerio jewelry brand, toured Marie Antoinette's private chambers at Versailles after their extensive five-year renovation. 'I discovered the little apartment of the queen,' Ms. Mellerio recalled last month on a video call from the brand's flagship store on Paris's Rue de la Paix, 'and I thought it would be a good idea to perhaps design a necklace.' After all, Ms. Mellerio is the 14th-generation owner of the house, founded by her family in 1613. And on July 2, during a private dinner at Versailles, the house unveiled Jardin des Rêves, or Garden of Dreams, the one-of-a-kind necklace that is the result of Ms. Mellerio's vision. Featuring 14 types of gemstones — including aquamarine, rubellite, tanzanite, imperial topaz, sapphire and tourmaline — totaling 172 carats, the 18-karat gold necklace features a one-carat Mellerio-cut diamond from which hangs a pendant in the shape of a pineapple; the gem-encrusted gold pendant may be removed and worn as an earring. The design is a nod to the pineapple-pattern wall coverings in the queen's chambers, recalling a time when the tropical fruit was considered a symbol of wealth and exoticism. Christophe Mélard, Mellerio's managing director, said the house had been inspired by the extravagant style of the doomed queen, who was executed in the French Revolution. 'Her personal taste was extremely colorful in terms of textiles, in terms of silk,' Mr. Mélard said. 'Surprisingly, when you consider Versailles, which is huge, her private apartments were very small, very intimate. On the walls and in front of the windows, you have beautiful textiles with a beautiful mix of colors, like a garden, with a tribute to a delicious, huge fruit, the ananas' — the French word for pineapple — 'which, in the 18th century, was considered the king of the fruits. 'We thought it could be extremely interesting to try to translate her personal taste into a jewelry piece.' Mellerio — which was one of the first jewelers to establish itself in Paris's Place Vendôme area, now a center of high jewelry brands — spent about a year creating the necklace in its workshops there. It is priced at 'around $1 million,' Mr. Mélard said. Frank Everett, the vice chairman of jewelry at Sotheby's, which auctioned a selection of Marie Antoinette's jewels in 2018, said Mellerio's riotous ode to the queen was a fitting way to honor her. 'She was the first It Girl,' Mr. Everett said. 'The excess of the time translated into Marie Antoinette's style, but she always put this ultra feminine, ladylike touch on things. She never looked overdone. She looked rich — that was the point — but it was beautifully orchestrated.'
South China Morning Post
16-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
When it comes to coloured gemstones, pink is the way to go: from diamonds to sapphires, luxury maisons like Dior and Louis Vuitton are capitalising on the ‘divas' of the jewellery world
Pink gemstones can be considered the 'divas' of the jewellery world, thanks to their playful and vivid appearance, which is typically associated with themes of romance, femininity and royalty. While gemstones such as emeralds and sapphires have been traditionally considered more 'elegant' choices for jewellery design, high jewellery maisons – including the likes of Mellerio, Louis Vuitton and Dior – are increasingly featuring pink and purple-hued stones in their latest collections. Rose quartz, morganite, and pink-hued rubies and spinels are encouraging the acceptance of these playful shades, but what else has influenced the growing interest in these gemstones? Advertisement One factor is surely that pink is one of the rarer naturally occurring shades in gemstones and that exclusivity is attractive to consumers. Diamonds, for example, develop a purely pink colour – ranging from faint to fancy vivid shades – due to distortions in their crystal structure caused by intense depth and pressure during formation, according to the Gemological Institute of America. That quality – undisturbed by secondary hues from trace elements – makes them highly sought after. An internally flawless pink diamond ring at Christie's Hong Kong. Photo: Handout 'Even if it's a one-carat diamond, it has significant value as it takes millions of years to produce,' says Rahila Refaaq, gemologist and founder of Hong Kong jewellery label Zaha et Cetera. First discovered in India in the 17th century, pink diamonds have also been found in Brazil, Tanzania, Indonesia, Canada and South Africa, although today the gems are growing increasingly hard to find. The Argyle mine in Western Australia, which produced over 90 per cent of the world's pink diamonds , shut down in November 2020. 'Pink diamonds account for only 0.1 per cent of the 20 million carats of diamonds that are mined from the earth each year,' says Stewart Young, Bonhams' director of jewellery and head of department, Asia. This pink diamond ring is estimated to sell for HK$3.9 million to HK$5 million at Bonhams Hong Kong's Jewels and Jadeite sale on May 22. Photo: Handout
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Princess Catharina-Amalia Has a Rare Tiara Moment
Princess Catharina-Amalia continues to prepare for her role as a future monarch with another appearance at a state visit—and she did so in full princess regalia. For the occasion, the princess chose the Mellerio Ruby Parure Tiara, paired with the "Ginkgo" dress by British label Safiyaa in lavender. The tiara, from the Dutch royal family's collection, was made for the family by French jewelry maker Mellerio, founded in 1613. According to The Court Jeweller, the tiara was created 'for Queen Emma around 1888 as a part of a larger ruby parure.' Every Dutch queen since Emma has worn the tiara, including Queen Máxima, who wore it last at a state banquet welcoming in honor of Portugal this past December. At that banquet, Princess Catharina-Amalia donned the Dutch Star Tiara. The Princess of Orange appeared with her parents, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, on Tuesday as they welcomed Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said of Oman during a state banquet on the first night of a two-day state visit. This is Princess Catharina-Amalia's third state banquet, nearly a year to the day of her first one on April 17, 2024, welcoming King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain. The princess, who turned 21 in December, is first in line to the throne to the throne of the Netherlands, and her presence at the banquet highlights her rising profile. Princess Catharina-Amalia, eldest child of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima, has used the title 'Princess of Orange'—a title that can only be held by the heir to the throne—since her father's investiture as King of the Netherlands in 2013. She has two younger sisters, Princess Alexia, 19, and Princess Ariane, 18, neither of whom were present this evening. Princess Catharina-Amalia is currently studying for her bachelor's degree at the University of Amsterdam. You Might Also Like 12 Weekend Getaway Spas For Every Type of Occasion 13 Beauty Tools to Up Your At-Home Facial Game
