Photo Courtesy of Chaumet

Spectacular designsalways need strong inspirations. Sometimes, designers and brands explore the landscape, mountains and gardens for floral inspirations, while some turn to birds and animals to inspire their bejeweled creations. Others look up to mythical creatures and legends to craft one-off pieces or an entire collection. For some, it is the shape and color of a precious gem that provides them with the creative spark, and for others, it is the beauty of architecture or fabric.

Here are some varied inspirations:

Gemstone

Victoire de Castellane, Artistic Director of Dior Joaillerie, created a fairy tale collection inspired by the beauty of opals and her innate love for the gemstone. As one of Victoire de Castellane’s favorite gemstones, the opal has for long been incorporated intothe Maison’s jewelry collections. As a central gemstone in a high jewelry collection, the Artistic Directorhas taken the opal. Each piece from the Dior et d’Opales collection is designed to celebratethe exquisite beauty of the opal.

Mythical creature

Cartier’s Magicien includes a beautifully crafted Quetzal Magicien bracelet featuring two voluptuous cabochon-cut rubellites, totaling 41.09 carats. The bracelet is accented with black lacquer and brilliant-cut diamonds. The Maison sought creative inspiration for this design from a mythical Aztec creature – a sacred feathered serpent that, according to legend, bridged the earth and sky. The fluid movement and grace of the feathered serpent has been translated through the links paved with diamonds along the torque-shaped bracelet.

Animal Kingdom

Noah’s Ark and the animal kingdom prompted Van Cleef & Arpels to transform these animals and birds into a menagerie of high-jewelry clips. Hand-picked hard stones, precious gems and diamonds accentuate the beauty of the creatures and add a 3-dimensional effect.The Perroquet clip features a pair of parrots with wings spread, soaring through the air. Each lapis lazuli and turquoise stone has been painstakingly cut to form the feather of the emerald-eyed parrot,whose body and tail are adorned with round and baguette-cut diamonds.

Browse through the designs by Avakian, Bulgari, Boghossian, Chanel, Chopard, Chaumet, De Grisogono and Piaget in the Photo Gallery to discover their inspirations.

Smitha Sadanandan