With May’s Chelsea Flower Show on the way, blossoms are here.
They can also be found here on Bond Street, albeit in more stylised, wearable versions, twinkling in the windows of its heritage jewellers. For them, flora and fauna continue to provide an endless source of creative ingenuity in exquisitely crafted pieces. From swirling floral brooches to rings and necklaces adorned with delicate diamond florets, this never-ending love affair with jewellery and nature goes back a long way.
“This never-ending love affair with jewellery and nature goes back a long way”
Take Tiffany & Co. for instance. Ever since the 1950s when the jewellery house's first named designer, Jean Schlumberger, created his collections of fanciful floral jewels for New York's most stylish women, flowers have been a staple in its fine and contemporary jewellery collections. And Van Cleef & Arpels, founded in 1906, is renowned for looking to the natural world to create uniquely beautiful pieces.
As Kate Flitcroft, Bonhams’ co-head of Jewellery, UK, says: ‘Today, floral motifs continue to have an eternal appeal and form an integral part of jewellery design. Heritage brands such as Boodles, Cartier, Tiffany and Van Cleef & Arpels treat flowers with extraordinary reverence, producing highly coveted, sophisticated and delicately modelled contemporary designs.’
“Flora and fauna continue to provide an endless source of creative ingenuity”
When Bonhams New Bond Street's London Jewels sale begins on 13 June, expect several floral-themed pieces to go under the hammer, including an elegant Van Cleef & Arpels diamond spray brooch, circa 1960. Of foliate design, and set with marquise-cut diamond leaves on a curving stem of baguette-cut diamonds, weighing 11 carats, it carries an estimate of £15,000-£20,000.
Meanwhile, there are plenty of new-season pieces to discover on Bond Street. British jewellery brand Boodles' stunning Secret Garden design ring, £3,000, features pink and white diamonds set in platinum and 18-carat Single Mine Origin (SMO) rose gold. Then there's the aptly named Blossom bracelet, £6,700, notable for its delicate, floral charms set with diamonds, also in 18-carat SMO rose gold.
Never one to mimic nature too closely, David Morris' stunning Palm collection ring, £26,000, glistens with aquamarines and 1.64-carat diamonds, set in 18-carat white gold. A pair of earrings, £6,400, in the new Miss Daisy collection are crafted with 1.90-carat pink sapphires and 0.61-carat diamonds, set in 18-carat white gold. The collection, one of the house's best-selling lines, is noted for its floral motifs inspired by the beauty of an English garden.
In contrast, Louis Vuitton looks to Italy, to the stunning gardens of Isola Bella, where Nicolas Ghesquière presented his Cruise 2024 Collection, as the creative spark for its LV Botanica Earrings, £365. Featuring crystals and pearls with gold-tone metal LV initials and signature Monogram Flowers, the ornate design adds a floral flourish to any outfit. The Monogram Flower, one of the house’s most recognisable icons, also features in the Flower Crown necklace, £2,290, crafted from chunky links of polished gold-tone metal and set with colourful pink crystals.
Mikimoto's new Cherry Blossom collection is bursting with incandescent delights such as the Cherry Blossom pendant. Priced at £2,100, it features Akoya cultured pearls, diamonds, and glass enamel on an 18-carat white gold chain.
And finally, let's not forget nature’s miracle worker, the humble bee. Mikimoto's diamond brooch, £9,300,features an 18-carat yellow gold bee at its heart. With wings designed to move en tremblant and the brooch embellished with three white Akoya pearls, pink sapphires and sparkling diamonds, this piece can't help but bedazzle.
Written by Lucie Muir.