Enchanting Winter: jewellery inspired by the frosty season

December 11, 2017

By Katerina Perez

8 min read

The fairytale, beautiful time of year, winter, is a season that we associate with magic from earliest childhood. A succession of holidays, gifts, and snow-white decorations from nature herself, as she generously dresses everything around in a white cloak – all this invariably gives us a sense of deep happiness. This festive joy sweeps jewellers along in its tide, inspiring them to imagine and create beautiful images in their winter jewellery.

Beauty and deep emotions always inspire jewellers that stay loyal to the naturalistic traditions and enable them to embody the symbols of winter in precious materials. Remember, for example, Chaumet’s Lumières d’Eau high jewellery collaction, dedicated to water in all its forms. In it, creative director Claire Deve-Rakoff captured subtle springs, torrential rains, the mists of sunny lakes and unique frost beauties. An extensive line incorporating several kinds of necklaces, rings, bracelets and earrings was dedicated to the winter manifestations of water with one of the most extraordinary pieces being a secret watch, Stalactites, with features crafted from platinum and diamonds.

Jewellery house Boucheron has gone a step further this year and had dedicated an entire collection of unique pieces, L’Hiver Impérial, to the winter. The beauty of the northern women, the geometric harmony of snowflakes, frozen waterfalls, wild animals with frost-covered fur, snow-covered roofs – all are embodied in diamonds, pearls, mother-of-pearl and other gemstones.

Jewellery Theatre

Jewellery Theatre

Nature has become an incredible source of inspiration for the jewellery designer Nadine Aysoy. In the Tsarina collection the frosty crystal becomes a symbol of the uniqueness and originality of every woman, since in nature there are no two identical snowflakes. At the base of the rings, pendants and earrings lies an ice star decorated in the centre either with a pink morganite, a deep blue topaz, a pink sapphire or some other gemstone framed with intricate diamond motifs.And, most recently, the British designer Solange Azagury-Partridge release a new collection by the name of Supernature, which included a necklace, earrings and a ring in the form of streams of frozen water. The silhouette of white gold stalactites and specks of diamonds always ends with a teardrop-like colourless stone with a movable mount, strengthening the play of light in the piece as it moves.The winter theme also drips through the works of the Russian enamel master Ilgiz Fazulzyanov, the jewelled watches decorated with snowflakes from the Swiss company Chopard, the works of French designer Lydia Courteille, and the famous American brand Tiffany&Co. And many, many others. Year after year, new jewelled interpretations of icy water and inhabitants of the North Pole make their appearance, so you can be sure: in 2018, the winter fairytale will continue.

Boucheron •

Boucheron •

Boucheron 'Le Husky' watch from Lumiére de Nuit, part of the L'Hiver Imperiale collection

Piaget •

Piaget •

Piaget 'Extremely Piaget' ear cuff with 16.07ct marquise and brilliant cut diamonds

Chopard •

Chopard •

Chopard 'Happy Snowflakes' watch, with mother of pearl and diamonds

Solange Azagury-Partridge •

Solange Azagury-Partridge •

Solange Azagury-Partridge 'Icicle' earring from the Supernature collection, in white gold and diamonds

Nadine Aysoy •

Nadine Aysoy •

Nadine Aysoy 'Tsarina Ice Flake' Ring in white gold with 6.75ct topaz and 0.65ct diamonds

Alessio Boschi •

Alessio Boschi •

Alessio Boschi 'Blue Ice' ring and earrings from Naturalia collection, in white gold, pearls, topaz and diamonds

Tessa Packard •

Tessa Packard •

Tessa Packard 'Antarctica' ring, with hand carved quartz star and pave diamond setting in yellow gold

Lydia Courteille •

Lydia Courteille •

Lydia Courteille ring in white gold, with rutilated quartz and 2.1ct diamond setting

Ilgiz F. •

Ilgiz F. •

Ilgiz F. 'Winter Forest' ring in white gold, with aquamarine and 3.37 carat diamond and enamel setting

Vhernier •

Vhernier •

Vhernier 'Penguin' brooch with layered "trasparenza" mother-of-pearl, carnelian, onyx and diamonds

Ichien •

Ichien •

Ichien 'Bullfinches' ring in rubies, sapphires and diamonds

Chopard •

Chopard •

Chopard Limited Edition 'Precious Polar Bear' diamond ring

Van Cleef and Arpels •

Van Cleef and Arpels •

Van Cleef and Arpels 'Snowflake' bracelet in platinum and diamonds

Fabergé •

Fabergé •

Fabergé La Broche Lara à Irkutsk with pink sapphires, pearls and diamonds

Boucheron •

Boucheron •

Boucheron 'Flocon' Lumiere de Nuit ring in white gold, mother of pearl and diamonds from L'Hiver Imperiale collection

Mario Buzzanca •

Mario Buzzanca •

Mario Buzzanca 'Penguins' necklace in rose gold, pearls, black and colourless diamonds

Calleija •

Calleija •

Celleija tapered baguette Star pendant with Argyle pink diamonds

Harry Winston •

Harry Winston •

Harry Winston Lotus Cluster ring with diamonds set in platinum

Vladimir Markin •

Vladimir Markin •

Vladimir Markin earrings with sapphires and diamonds

Chaumet •

Chaumet •

Chaumet Eau d'Hiver ring from Lumieres d'Eau collection set with rock crystal and diamonds

Theo Fennell •

Theo Fennell •

Theo Fennell diamond 'Arts' charm

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