Pearls have a long tradition as being pretty, feminine jewellery. As they’ve come back into fashion in recent years, they’ve taken on a myriad of new interpretations. Pearls as the neck or wrist accoutrement for the stylish man unafraid of playing with conventions. Pearls as engagement rings. Even pearl jewels designed with a rock ‘n’ roll attitude. All this creative derivation, in its own funny way, is what makes the new Les Pétales high jewellery collection by Mikimoto so refreshing: it taps into the fundamental prettiness and elegance of pearls.
You might know Mikimoto as a first name in pearls. Founder Kokichi Mikimoto is, after all, dubbed the originator of cultured pearls. The inventor and innovator figured out the secrets and techniques of reliably cultivating round, lustrously white gems from Akoya pearl oysters. More than 130 years on, the Japanese brand is still renowned for the remarkable quality of its lustrous pearls and the fine craftsmanship of its jewellery.
The jeweller recently unveiled Les Pétales, a collection of over 40 one-of-a-kind high jewellery creations, at the historic Hôtel d’Évreux in Paris’s Place Vendôme. The name of the collection is a telling hint to its inspirations: the romantic, ephemeral dance of rose petals caught in motion. It continues a long-standing theme at Mikimoto of designs that revere and honour nature, and here Les Pétales brings together Akoya pearls, diamonds and a smattering of precious coloured gemstones to create the look and feel of petals in movement.
See, for instance, a rose-inspired design modelled here by Chinese actress and singer Dilraba, a Mikimoto global brand ambassador. Inspired by the lavishness of a flower in bloom, the necklace combines rows of Akoya pearls on the neck with an off-centre rose motif. In the centre of this flower, a vivid pink tourmaline brings gentle luminous colour, while around it diamond-set petals are scattered as though a breeze had played with the bloom.
The standout designs in Les Pétales riff on and play with the classical, timeless idea of pearl strand jewels. Combinations of long and short, tight and loose are reimagined in the form of Akoya pearl chokers and cascading sautoirs. True to the theme, these necklaces are decorated with diamond-set petals, placed delicately and asymmetrically to create an organic look of a fresh spring bloom having just been artfully rustled.
Supple strings of pearls were also turned on their head with lace-inspired designs that highlight the virtuosity of Mikimoto craftsmanship. A suite of plastron necklace and cuff-style bracelets transform Akoya pearls into a woven, flexible mesh. Worn on the neck, the impeccably graduated and matched Akoya pearls create the trompe l’oeil look of a collar; while the cuff bracelets make a voluminous statement on the wrist. These jewels are flexible so they move on the body, but also structured enough to maintain its distinct silhouettes.
What’s also exciting in Les Pétales is the Japanese jeweller’s creative palette of coloured gemstones. At its most classical and true-to-form for Mikimoto are natural conch pearls, a very rare and covetable gem with a tender coral-pink hue. A pair of rosebud brooches are set with conch pearls, accentuated with pink sapphires, diamonds and white Akoya pearls; and an elegantly shaped floral toi et moi ring features a pair of natural conch pearls as centre stones.
The rest of the collection is fittingly coloured with springtime shades. A green tourmaline with verdant radiance is set on a brooch of scattered diamond and pearl petals; pink morganites with powder hues nestle in petals on necklaces; and pink tourmalines with bold, intense colour become points of beauty on a choker necklace and a jewelled headpiece.
Discover Mikimoto’s Les Pétales collection here.
