Chanel’s latest high jewellery collection introduces wings to its symbolic repertoire while celebrating the golden-hour glamour that def ined founder Gabrielle Chanel’s Hollywood vision
Gabrielle Chanel’s relationship with Hollywood was not exactly straightforward. When Hollywood’s United Artists Studio came calling in 1931, the executives wanted her to dress their stars in the sort of jewellery that would catch every spotlight and camera flash. What they got instead was Chanel’s particular brand of calculated rebellion—pieces that showcased restraint rather than excess; that moved with the body rather than weighed it down. This response didn’t harm the brand, though; she expanded the designs into the maison’s first high jewellery collection, Bijoux de Diamants, launched in 1932.
Now, it’s a philosophy that the team at Chanel Fine Jewelry Creation Studio has carried into the Reach for the Stars high jewellery collection, albeit it with considerably more drama.
The collection revolves around three symbols that Chanel uses as visual shorthand for aspiration: comets, which have been streaking through the house’s designs since 1932; lions, which arrived in 2012 as both Chanel’s astrological calling card and a symbol of strength; and wings—making their high jewellery debut with the sort of fanfare usually reserved for papal visits. It’s the wings that steal the show, taking flight across necks and encrusting fingers in precious stones.
Consider the Wings of Chanel necklace, the collection’s undisputed star. Requiring 1,500 hours of work, the piece achieves substantial presence without weight. The openwork gold wings wrap around the throat like delicate lace, while a detachable pendant, cascading down the décolletage, showcases a 19.55- carat padparadscha sapphire. This particular stone carries the romance of its name, which is Sinhalese for “lotus flower in the rising sun”. Ceylon padparadscha of this size, with their perfect balance of pink and orange, don’t surface often; when they do, houses like Chanel tend to build entire collections around them.
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Chanel Wings of Chanel necklace (Photo: courtesy of Chanel)
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The necklace’s transformative nature reveals Chanel’s understanding of how serious jewellery buyers wear their pieces. Remove the pendant and wear it as a bracelet; what remains is a shorter necklace that draws focus to the clavicle. It’s luxury that earns its keep, designed for those who view their jewellery as part of a working wardrobe rather than safe-deposit ornaments.
Meanwhile, the designers have stretched the comet motif beyond its 1932 origins, turning celestial bodies into modular luxury. The Twin Stars necklace can be worn in more ways than one: a long sautoir one moment, twin shorter pieces the next, finally breaking down into matching bracelets. One strand showcases diamond- set comets; the other features five rows of tanzanite beads that graduate through subtle blue variations. Yet it’s the collection’s approach to colour that reveals Chanel’s most sophisticated thinking. Rather than relying on a diamond’s reliable sparkle, the design weaves in stones that capture specific moments of light. Pink sapphires in the Pink Hour necklace represent that brief window when daylight softens into something more forgiving. The Sunny Days brooch combines bright yellow, cognac and orange diamonds in homage to a sunset’s shifting palette, while the After Midnight set’s tanzanite beads provide the sort of blue ombré that jewellery lovers dream about.
