What Makes Boucheron’s L’Artisan du Reve Collection Art?

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BY MONICA BULLOCK

In a world of sparkling things, where jewelry masters assemble colors and shapes into breathtaking perfection, anything is possible. At Boucheron, where high jewelry can becomes elegant art, Boucheron’s L’Artisan du Reve Collections fills us with wonder with lustrous pieces that move and tell a unique story taken from the jewelry house’s archives.

Bouquet d’Ailes

Each piece in this collection begins with a trip to the archives. When looking for inspiration for the Bouquet d’Ailes, an artist notes the sweep of a forgotten peacock tail, pressed in a leather-bound journal. Next, she spots a complex drawing of a dragonfly taking flight; she runs her finger along the detailed movements of a charcoal drawing of a resting butterfly. Her imagination peaked; she sets on paper a sketch that begins the dazzling process. Requiring nine months of fabrication, 1,250 working hours, and 2,300 stones, this piece rests perfectly on the female figure, the delicate, jeweled wings flutter along her shoulders as she moves. Boucheron’s Bouquet d’Ailes began life as an artist’s rendering but evolved into a careful marriage of art and jewelry.

Perle au Tresor

Covered in carefully arranged diamonds and pearl inlays, the Perle au Tresor goes from art to jewelry and to art again in just a few movements. Spherical and delightful, the Perle au Tresor holds a secret. Press the diamond lock to open the treasure box and you will discover a strand of perfect pearls. The Perle au Tresor disassembles to become a pin, or a pendant necklace and a bolo of pearls. With a remarkable 3,000 hours of work and 2,500 glistening stones, the artist has truly interpreted the “shape of the soul.”

What Makes Jewelry Art?

According to Boucheron, “The collection, L’Artisan du Rêve, is a journey through the heart of the Maison’s archives; a path of discovery through the extraordinarily vibrant history and legacy of the Maison Boucheron. Each major piece is the echo of an inspiration, a recurrent theme or a particular technique that is emblematic of the Maison’s expertise, savoir-faire and creative energy.”

L’Artisan du Reve is more than a jewelry collection. The Maison’s ability to create movement, think beyond the confines of typical jewelry offerings, to tell a story—the story of Boucheron that makes L’Artisan du Reve art, in the truest sense of the word.

Created by some of the finest artisans in the world, this collection evokes forgotten emotions like delight and wonder, often lost when we leave childhood behind, with pieces that are nothing childish. Exquisite with strands of the whimsical: that truly takes an artist.

 

-February 2013