Louis Vuitton has shared the next installment of its Deep Time High Jewelry series, unveiling 50 new pieces bedecked with glittering gemstones. It’s the fifth collection designed by the French label’s artistic director of watches and jewelry, Francesca Amfitheatrof, and perhaps her boldest yet.
The revered designer’s latest collection is an epic journey spanning the birth of the planet to the creation of life. In total, it will feature over 170 unique pieces – the Maison’s biggest High Jewelry collection to date – with a record number of precious stones.
“With this second chapter of Deep Time, we continue the story of this most beautiful, poetic collection that symbolizes a vast and incredible storyline,” commented Amfitheatrof. “At Louis Vuitton, we are as ever adventurers, traveling to extraordinary, unexpected places.”
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The collection is split into two sections – geology and life – and spans several distinct themes. First, we’re taken to Gondwana – an ancient landmass that incorporates present-day South America, Africa, India, Australia and Antarctica. In a nod to this interconnectedness, Amfitheatrof has crafted a stunning seven-row platinum necklace dotted with no oil Colombian emeralds that dovetail into a V formation reminiscent of the Maison’s signature motif. The truly one-of-a-kind necklace features 259 custom-cut diamonds and is presented alongside a matching pair of emerald earrings and a ring.
Chapter II of Louis Vuitton’s Deep Time High Jewelry collection also introduced new pieces inspired by Laurasia – the more northern of two landmasses that formed part of the Pangea supercontinent. Echoing the Gondwana design, the seven-row necklace features a showstopping 5.02-carat emerald-cut yellow diamond.
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For the second theme, Amfitheatrof looked at volcanic eruptions and seismic activity. The result is a high collar necklace – which took 2,000 hours to craft – made from platinum and yellow gold bars with an ‘explosion’ of mandarin garnets and raspberry pink tourmalines (two stones that form naturally under specific geological conditions that involve intense heat and pressure). New pieces revealed for Chapter II include a stylish single-strand necklace adorned with a 30.47-carat octagonal step-cut sapphire and a matching classic white gold bracelet.
Next, the talented designer drew on the colossal waves of a tsunami to craft a high collar necklace decorated with alternating rows of pave and baguette diamonds that sit above a suspended ultra-rare sapphire from Sri Lanka (the stone can be worn on a separate chain for a pared-back but equally glamorous look). “The wave curling under your neck is an extraordinary design and extraordinary concept,” explained Amfitheatrof. “It’s so beautifully made and is set with one of the collection’s masterpiece stones.”
The geology portion of Louis Vuitton’s Deep Time High Jewelry Collection concludes with a theme dedicated to the sun and sea – two essential ingredients for life to evolve. Amfitheatrof used aquamarine and yellow sapphire to represent both elements, crafting an interlaced white gold necklace interspersed with 18 LV monogram star cut diamonds.
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Perhaps the most striking theme of all is ‘origin’ – the first theme of the second section which explores how life began. Inspired by a single cell growing and multiplying, Amfitheatrof has designed a breathtaking white gold necklace of interwoven strands of diamonds that encircle a 10.21-carat D flawless brilliant cut diamond.
The pure white palette continues into the next theme – ‘myriad’ – which is based around a series of jewels that nod to the double helix. Rows of spiraling diamonds culminate in a hypnotic necklace finished with a detachable 4.11-carat LV monogram star cut diamond that can be worn on a matching chain. Chapter II of Louis Vuitton’s Deep Time High Jewelry collection built on this design, adding a knotted white gold necklace reminiscent of the ropes used to transport the Maison’s trunks.
Amfitheatrof also used her jewelry collection to explore how fossils can unlock precious secrets about life. To this end, she crafted a gorgeous three-strand necklace – each entirely individual – linked by a 27.83-carat sapphire and 5.52-carat monogram star-cut diamond. “Fossils is really a roadmap, an imprint that tells us where we come from,” she explained. “Each strand of the necklace is unique and almost imprinted with a visual language that’s left for us to read.” The second installment of the collection saw Louis Vuitton add a more minimalist, single-strand necklace and a matching bracelet adorned with a 5.18-carat and 4.03-carat royal blue sapphire respectively.
The next two themes are centered around nature (think verdant green emeralds and rich red rubies) and flight – a stunning celebration of birds realized through, among other pieces, a cocktail ring set with a 7.67-carat pigeon’s blood Mozambique ruby.
Sophistication is taken to new heights with ‘bones’ which delves into the ‘miracle of evolution’. The star of the show here is Amfitheatrof’s head-turning bib-style necklace set with a 43.58-carat opal from Australia, a pear-cut 20.93-carat Paraiba tourmaline from Mozambique and 91.74-carats of emerald-cut tanzanites from Tanzania. For the second chapter, Louis Vuitton revealed a choker-style necklace featuring a layout of diamonds in alternating squares, rectangles and heights.
Two brand-new themes were also added for the second installment of the collection. ‘Symbiosis’ celebrates the emergence of early life forms on land and the creation of the first organic ecosystems; the standout piece is a dazzling multistrand necklace featuring clusters of spinels cut into various shapes in hues of purple and pink. Amfitheatrof also introduced ‘skin’ – another new theme exploring ‘the unique connections that expand into life patterns, creating a woven geometry of the physical and natural world’. Across the suite, the designer used almost 300 orange and pink-hued Umba sapphires from Tanzania’s Umba River, complementing the precious stone with pink gold to craft a necklace, matching bracelet, ring and pair of elegant earcuffs.
The life portion of Louis Vuitton’s Deep Time High Jewelry collection concludes with Amiftheatrof’s beautiful creations inspired by seeds and flowers. Among the treasures is an astonishing floral medallion necklace featuring custom-cut raspberry-hued rubies and pink sapphires, and a double-strand necklace adorned with 43 silvery Tahitian pearls.
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