Chanel unveils a high jewelry collection inspired by sport

Numbers rule sport. Which sprinter has the best time? Which team has the highest score? Who is the gymnast who gets a perfect ten? This summer, the eyes of the world turn to Paris, eagerly watching the scoreboards as countries battle for gold at the Paris Summer Olympics. The French fine jewelry and fashion house Chanel, located at the epicenter of Place Vendôme in Paris, announces this very sporty season with a scintillating style. A new collection of high jewelry, Fine jewelry sport (Sport Haute Joaillerie) imagined by Patrice Leguéreau, Director of the Haute Joaillerie Creation Studio, encourages women to move their bodies while ensuring that their high jewelry follows suit.

Photo: Courtesy of Chanel

Much like sportswear, the pieces in this collection are designed to mimic the anatomical nature and shape of a woman. The new jewel is ultra light and can be transformed to offer real freedom to the woman who has tried her luck. Spot the sporty herringbone pattern that pulses with speed and the clean contours that are reminiscent of a race track. Meanwhile, the iconic 5 appears in a Chronometer typography. The Chanel signature is notably highlighted for the first time in a high jewelry creation.

Photo: Courtesy of Chanel

Leguéreau expresses that through this new collection, he hopes customers will experience “a feeling of freedom of movement and energy.” Inspired by Chanel’s sporty style, with the elegance of its lines and its clothing promoting movement, it seeks to accentuate the sporty look so mastered by Gabrielle Chanel. In 1921, she created a “sports” workshop within her Haute Couture house, explains Leguéreau. “Combining elegance and performance – through its aesthetics, technical know-how and rigorous selection of precious stones – this collection celebrates that vibrant energy that defines a woman’s look, movement,” he says. Functionality and technical know-how are revealed with quick releases borrowed from sports equipment which transform into real clasps. These are not hidden but rather placed in the center of the jewelry. Namely: a carabiner is redesigned in the shape of the number 5, while a pivoting clasp is borrowed from the 2.55 bag as well as buckles and loops.

Photo: Courtesy of Chanel

Observe the Chanel quilted pattern, here presented in the style of high-performance openwork fabrics. It too is now in soft mesh and decorated with sporty signatures. Meanwhile, a tubular chain is now a “sports rope”. In this collection, imbued with French audacity, materials that are both precious and high-tech such as carbon fiber combine low density and high resistance to give rise to an ultra-light sports armband. Meanwhile, aluminum, known for being light and strong, vibrates with new colors. The lacquer guides the color palette to highlight nuances that match those of the precious stones.

Photo: Courtesy of Chanel

Precious stones play a central role. Leguéreau calls the sapphires in particular “the most beautiful set of stones ever presented by Chanel.” He explains that the moment he discovered the set of Kashmir sapphires, he recognized that they were “an incomparable, priceless and extremely rare set of collectible sapphires, featured in fine jewelry.” To ensure a harmonious whole, meeting the highest quality standards, years have been devoted to researching each stone. “It’s a set that we created from scratch, step by step, as always at Chanel, where creation is at the heart of everything we do. They perfectly “embody” my vision of color. The nuances bring additional dynamism. The two-tone and three-tone contrasts highlight the colored stones and their silhouettes underline the ergonomic aesthetic of the collection.

Patrice Leguéreau. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel

For this high jewelry, very advanced know-how is used to develop new shapes and new functions without losing elegance and the use of unusual materials in high jewelry such as carbon and aluminum. “I wanted to create a carbon “fabric” covering the entire exterior surface seamlessly. However, the traditional techniques used on this type of material, such as machining, did not achieve the desired result,” he explains. “So the carbon was molded, which presented a lot of complexities. The second challenge with this material was laser engraving to represent the lace pattern of the lettering across the entire exterior surface, without distorting the letters,” he continues. The designer impresses that the features have been precisely designed, proportioned and integrated to perfectly fit a woman’s body as she moves. “This was, for example, the case with the lobster clasp in the shape of the number 5,” he suggests with an air of bravery. “Everything starts from the sketch, from the idea. And then the challenges arrive! Fortunately, nothing seems impossible in the service of creation. This is the fantastic feeling I have had since arriving at the Chanel High Jewelry Creation Studio.

The designer, who began his career at Cartier then spent a decade at Van Cleef and Arpels, is something of a man on the move. “Sport has always been part of my life. Especially skiing and running. I love doing marathons. Running helps me clear my mind and gives me the feeling of freedom, essential when creating,” he shares. At Chanel, he seems to have found his rhythm, after 15 years in the house. It was at the famous Boulle School that he specialized in the artistic crafts of model engraving, and he also studied at the National Institute of Gemmology. By designing all the Chanel High Jewelry and Fine Jewelry collections, he transformed in a spectacular and unprecedented way such popular codes as the comet, the feather, the camellia, the sheaf of wheat, quilting and pearls. It introduces the lion, the astrological sign “Lion” of Mademoiselle Chanel, into the vault of high jewelry style, alongside the collections dedicated to perfume n°5 and tweed fabric. It also displays his precious objects, including the Academician’s Sword from American conductor William Christie, among other special commissions. From now on, Leguéreau once again exercises his artistic prowess. Like an athlete, he pushed the limits of what was possible. Using technical intelligence, precision and artistry, he has created a narrative that inspires excitement and wonder.

Photo: Courtesy of Chanel