Second Louis Vuitton High Jewellery Collection A Beauty Of The Cosmos

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Ever stared up at the night sky and seen a constellation of sparkling jewels? Such was the inspiration behind Louis Vuitton’s high jewellery collection, designed by artistic director for jewelry and watches, Francesca Amfitheatrof.

Distinguished by seven unique themes, Stellar Times encapsulates the beauty of the cosmos in a series of 90 individual pieces will transport you to another (decadent) universe, where dazzling diamonds, opals, sapphires, rubies and emeralds adorn statement necklaces, earrings and rings.

Lune Bleue, for example, is a tribute to the moon. The eponymous necklace is adorned with diamonds and blue sapphires from Sri Lanka and Madagascar, all painstakingly arranged in Louis Vuitton’s signature checkerboard pattern. It took 900 hours to create the pattern, which evokes an image of the moon’s reflection on the ocean. And if that doesn’t sound impressive enough, consider the 15.56-carat vibrant blue sapphire that sits at the centre of the choker.

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Another showstopper is the transformable Soleils necklace, named after the Sun. It, too, features the intricate latticework of gems (and four entire rows of it!), this time using diamonds and yellow sapphires. If that sounds dramatic, the piece can be converted into three slimmer necklaces, each hanging with an emerald-cut yellow sapphire as a golden centerpiece.

Amfitheatrof says she came up with the idea last year while watching the 50th-anniversary celebrations of the first moon landing, and realizing that while exploration had been frozen for a long time, a new spate of private space travel companies – including Elon Musk’s SpaceX – had made it feel “very much of the now”. The whole concept, she felt, was close to the spirit of Louis Vuitton – its sense of exploration, discovery and adventure. “I also realized that the first person to step onto Mars could be a woman,” she says, adding: “Women make the best astronauts.”

Amfitheatrof thrives on the balance between taking jewellery and gems seriously yet simultaneously debunking the po-facedness of high-jewellery itself. “This is an exciting moment for Louis Vuitton jewellery,” she says. “There’s a lot of energy coming from the house, a different rhythm. We can push tradition out of the way because the brand has a cheekiness that gives us freedom to be bolder, more graphic, ensure jewellery has a connection to fashion and femininity. We’re very keen for jewellery to progress; it’s no longer about status. We want jewellery and high jewellery to be worn, enjoyed, to reach out and speak to women.” As with the Stellar Times collection, she wants her pieces to reach for the stars.