There are few things more intrinsically linked to the CHANEL universe than tweed. Gabrielle Chanel discovered this humble fabric in the 1920s during her love affair with the Duke of Westminster. During their time together, she was introduced to the lifestyle and country pursuits of the English Aristocracy. Having borrowed the Duke’s tweed jackets, Mademoiselle Chanel reinterpreted them and began utilizing Scottish tweed in her collection. Over a century later, this lush fabric is still a major part of CHANEL featuring in almost all collections and becoming an emblem of the Maison.
In 2020, tweed inspired one of CHANEL’s most spectacular High Jewelry Collections, TWEED DE CHANEL. { To discover more about this collection, click HERE }Comprised of 45 pieces, the richness and suppleness of tweed was reproduced using highlight technical articulations and settings to recreate the richness of the material in precious gems. For the latest CHANEL High Jewelry collection, Patrice Leguéreau, Director of the CHANEL Fine Jewelry Creation Studio, noted that he “…wanted to go further in the interpretation by creating a veritable fabric of precious stones that is light and supple…my dream was to create a tweed set with precious stones”. The 63 pieces that make up the newest addition to the TWEED DE CHANEL collection showcase a mastery of technical skill and beauty. The collection unveils five new tweed jewelry weaves, in five different colors and adorned with five icons dear to Gabrielle Chanel: the white ribbon, the pink camellia, the comet on a blue background, the yellow sun and the lion highlighted with flashes of red. In five precious chapters, plastrons, necklaces and sautoirs, bracelets, brooches, rings and earrings re-create the charms of tweed, with each symbol represented either delicately within the clasp or present in full power on the piece.
TWEED RUBAN
Present in CHANEL Haute Couture collections from the outset, both as a fastening and as an embellishment, ribbon is a feature of the “TWEED DE CHANEL” Collection. Interlacing with the threads of the fabric, gently adding softness to the weave, it highlights its texture and intertwining to create a monochrome tweed, ultra-supple and laced with openwork, gleaming with cultured pearls and shimmering with diamonds set in white gold.
TWEED PASTEL
Evoking the crisscrossing threads of tweed, rows of diamonds create a precious weave. It is highlighted by the éclat of the oval-cut diamond positioned in one of the rows on the necklace and bracelet, and in majesty on the ring.
TWEED RUBAN
In a graphic evocation of tweed, the pattern of this set focuses on the fabric’s fleecy texture and lightness. Delicate and restrained, the weave unites the clarity of white gold with the purity of diamonds.
TWEED PERLÉ
In this set, a supple tweed ribbon intertwined with loops and pearls can be worn as a brooch or as a pendant on a chain. In a more stylised version, it adorns earrings and a necklace that can be worn long or short or as a bracelet.
TWEED MADEMOISELLE
While the weave of the tweed is a clearly visible throughout this set, its texture is evoked by center stones of different shapes and sizes that stand out through the alternate rows of diamonds.
TWEED CAMÉLIA
An icon in Gabrielle Chanel’s style for the liberated woman, the camellia is also a symbol of delicacy and distinction. For the”TWEED DE CHANEL” Collection, the geometrical perfection of the camellia flower is etched in rose gold embroideries set with powder-pink and fuchsia sapphires against a textured weave. Playing on transparencies and contrasts, this is a fabric that is uncompromising in its elegance.
TWEED PÉTALE
Regular at first, the weave of the tweed opens out, following an artful rhythm, to adorn the plastron and bracelet with pink sapphires and diamonds, while the earrings and ring offer a more restrained and contrasting interpretation.
TWEED CAMÉLIA
The camellia appears in a remarkable play of contrasts: a regular weave in rose gold enriched with shaped stones and little camellias is fringed with a cascade of pink sapphires on which a camellia blooms in a diamond lace.
TWEED POUDRÉ
Hinted at on the necklace, ring and earrings, the tweed of precious stones appears in its full finesse on the brooch: an openwork camellia, in a play of interlacing, that can also be worn as a pendant on a chain.
TWEED DENTELLE
Articulated throughout and extremely supple, the plastron necklace hugs itself perfectly to the body’s contours, radiating around the neck in a lacework of diamonds. One of the rings is classic and plays on symmetry, while the other one is a double and more modern in design.
TWEED ÉTOILE
An emblem of “Bijoux de Diamants”, the first and only High Jewelry collection created by Gabrielle Chanel in 1932, the comet motif is eternally modern, endowed with a potent and mysterious aesthetic power. The “TWEED DE CHANEL” Collection interprets the depths of the starry night sky through a great density of precious stones in strong shades: the weave in black and blue is embellished with yellow diamonds and sapphires, like a night sky studded with tiny stars.
TWEED ASTRAL
A tweed of sapphires and diamonds where the center stones evoke the stars. A stunning emerald-cut yellow diamond lights up the necklace, while the ring is adorned with a deep blue oval-cut sapphire.
TWEED ÉTOILÉ
Tiny stars shimmer against the tweed of this set, as they do on the long necklace, around a center stone that illuminates the blue and black weave. A tweed comet seems to have stopped in its course to shine on the necklace.
TWEED CÉLESTE
The midnight blue of sapphires and the depths of onyx highlight the éclat of a weave of diamonds, while a pear-cut diamond adds the finishing note to this ethereal necklace. Its luminous purity is echoed in the earrings and ring.
TWEED SOLEIL
From her apartment on rue Cambon to her Haute Couture collections, Gabrielle Chanel’s world was punctuated by images of the sun, inextricably linked to the lion, her star sign. In the “TWEED DE CHANEL” collection, the sun beams in a glittering tweed that alternates large volumes and plays on transparency. The crystalline precious stones set in a weave of yellow gold form a dazzling evocation of Byzantine and Venetian magnificence.
TWEED CAMBON
The combination of yellow gold, platinum, diamonds and rock crystal – like the pendants that recall the chandeliers in the apartment on rue Cambon – create a tweed of shimmering, crystalline clarity. The sun motif can be detached from the plastron necklace to be worn as a brooch, on a thin chain or on a ring.
TWEED BYZANCE
The sun motif of the brooch, combining yellow beryls and white diamonds, create subtle plays of light. On the bracelet, gemstones are set like embroidery, composing geometrical motifs of a Byzantine inspiration.
TWEED LION
Majestic, fearless and instinctive, the lion, Gabrielle Chanel’s star sign, became her emblem. Later on, it would also become the emblem of CHANEL High Jewelry. For the “TWEED DE CHANEL” collection, the tweed of precious stones takes its inspiration from the lion to adorn itself in vibrant shades of red and orange and sunny yellows, creating embroidered textures, braided with chains and embellished with roaring patterns, as precious as it is sensory.
TWEED GABRIELLE
This set draws its inspiration from the conquering lion that was so dear to Gabrielle Chanel. On the necklace and bracelet, a large spessartite garnet is set in the center of a tweed in shades of red and orange, woven from yellow gold and platinum, yellow sapphires and spessartite garnets.
TWEED LION
The lion is associated with fiery shades that express its fierceness and power. Created in a tweed of white and yellow gold set with rubies, spessartite garnets, yellow sapphires, spinel and diamonds, the lion’s head motif can be worn as a brooch or necklace. The earrings and ring echo the same motif in a version set with marquise-cut rubies.
The centrepiece of the collection, the Tweed Royal necklace is an absolute wonder of precious gems and incredible construction. The yellow gold weave of the plastron necklace, intricately crafted and trimmed with a chain, is set with diamonds and a magnificent ensemble of 37 rubies. The lion’s head at its centre can be worn as a brooch or as a necklace on the plastron, while the magnificent 10.17 carats D FL Type IIa pear-cut diamond that adorns it, can be detached to be worn as a ring.
TWEED ROYAL
This set forms the centrepiece of the “TWEED DE CHANEL” Collection. The bracelet can be divided in two, one in a tweed of precious stones, the other in ruby beads embellished with the lion motif, to be worn together or separately. Just like the open ring whose two motifs can also be worn together or separately. Intricately crafted and trimmed with a chain, the yellow gold weave of the plastron necklace is set with diamonds and a magnificent ensemble of rubies. The lion’s head at its centre can be worn as a brooch or as a necklace on the plastron, while the magnificent pear-cut diamond that adorns it, can be detached to be worn as a ring.
