Renowned for her audacious and imaginative designs, Victoire de Castellane, Artistic Director of Dior Joaillerie, continues to push boundaries with her latest high jewellery collections. Her new Diorama and Diorigami lines transform the classic Toile de Jouy pattern into contemporary, enchanting creations.
The Toile de Jouy, a quintessential 18th-century design that adorns Dior’s Book Tote, Walk’n’Dior trainers, and scarves, is central to these 172-piece collections. For the first time, Castellane incorporates animal motifs, blending intricate figurative and abstract designs with advanced goldsmithing and gemstone techniques.
Originating from the walls of Christian Dior’s inaugural boutique at 30 Avenue Montaigne, the Toile de Jouy theme emerges in the Diorama collection as a fantastical forest. This series features delicately carved and diamond-encrusted squirrels, fawns, and rabbits amidst rich foliage. Highlights include necklaces with miniature deer, owls in tonal lacquer, and swans on mother-of-pearl, as well as flora adorned with diamond-pavé foxes and squirrels.
The pièce de résistance, the Diorama Forêt Enchantée necklace, exemplifies this collection’s intricate artistry, demanding over 6,000 hours of meticulous craftsmanship. Featuring glyptic chrysoprase animals and intricate yellow gold leaves, it is set with 1,300 gems including white diamonds, pearls, yellow sapphires, green tsavorites, and emeralds. The collection also boasts a ring with a sleeping fawn and earrings with animated squirrels, both encrusted with emeralds.
The Diorama collection highlights Dior’s largest assemblage of gemstones, showcasing rubies, sapphires, black opals, turquoises, tsavorite garnets, and emeralds. The collection’s allure is amplified by rare artistic techniques such as glyptic carving, lacquer work, and sophisticated goldworking methods, including pricked gold for a frosted effect and mirror-polished gold for enhanced light reflection.
Contrasting with the Diorama’s figurative approach, the Diorigami collection takes a more abstract route. Inspired by Japanese origami and the pleating technique synonymous with Dior’s Bar Jacket, Diorigami features vibrant, contrasting stones and whimsical motifs like rabbits, ladybirds, and flowers. Movable elements such as flower bells add dynamic depth, while Dior Joaillerie’s signature lacquer enhances the collection’s vibrant hues.
Both collections offer versatility with high jewellery belts, interchangeable bracelets and anklets adorned with pearls, diamonds, and coloured stones, alongside three distinctive headpieces. These exceptional pieces, along with the core selection of brooches, provide high jewellery aficionados with a truly unique experience.
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