Dripping with Baroque opulence, the latest Gucci High Jewelry collection is absolutely jaw-dropping. Designed by the House’s Creative Director Alessandro Michele, Hortus Deliciarum takes one on an imaginary Grand Tour wrought in precious gems and metals through the mid-nineteenth century into the 1970s.
Influenced by the idea of the Grand Tour, a sort of right of passage for the well-to-do youth of Europe from the 18th century onward, Michele explores and revels in the sumptuous visual beauty of Italy through the pieces of Gucci Hortus Deliciarum. Spectacular necklaces, cuffs and rings feature stunning cameos depicting the Colosseum, Piazza San Pietro with the Bernini colonnades, the Pantheon as it was in the 19th century, the Roman Forum, the Temple of Vesta, the temple of Hercules at Cori, the waterfalls at Tivoli, and the Pyramid of Cestius are encrusted in sparkling peridot, yellow bell, red and pink spinel, blue topaz, fire opal, pink tourmaline and colourful diamonds. Earrings and rings touch on the natural world with themes of flora and fauna and quite literally drip with glittering gems.
The psychedelic maximalism of the 1970s is seen throughout the collection with the bold use of colour. Michele does not shy away from the bright, and instead embraces shocking colour with the use of rubellite, imperial topaz, yellow beryl, garnet, amethyst, aquamarine, and emeralds. Stones go from the delicate to the dramatic.
The Gucci High Jewelry collection Hortus Deliciarum highlights the virtuosity of the craftsmanship of the pieces as much as the creative prowess of Michele. While this is only the third High Jewelry collection from Gucci, it certainly shows that this famed Italian fashion house is distinguishing itself in the rarified world of High Jewelry.
Note:
Gucci is a certified member of the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), which promotes responsible, ethical, social and environmental practices within the gold, platinum and diamond supply chains.
Since November 2015, all the gold purchased by Gucci for the creation of its jewelry has been certified with the Responsible Jewellery Council Chain of Custody scheme, which makes it possible to identify its origin and ensure responsible sourcing. This process is part of their mission to trace all of the materials in their supply chain. They also continue to work with industry partners to improve oversight of their diamond, precious stone and precious metal supply chain.
Gucci buys gold under the “Kering Responsible Gold Framework”, an agreement developed by their parent company Kering as an innovative solution to acquiring gold in a traceable and responsible manner. This agreement is supplemented by a financial mechanism that directly supports Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) and their communities through a fund dedicated to environmental and social projects.
The Kering Gold Fund has contributed to the reforestation of an area of 116 hectares of the Amazonian rainforest in French Guyana, planting 214,780 trees (a four-year project started in 2018). In addition, in collaboration with the NGO Solidaridad, the Fund supported a project dedicated to the empowerment of women who live near the gold mines in Ghana.
To see more fine and high jewelry related content, click {here}.
