Living la dolce vita

Boucheron’s latest collection, Dolce Riviera, brings extra beauty to the house’s newly refurbished flagship store on the place Vendôme, writes Lola Saab

WORDS THAT the famous house of Boucheron uses to define the newly designed boutique located at 26 place Vendôme in Paris are ‘sensuality, femininity and audacity’; all three elements also illustrate Boucheron’s jewellery creations. The store opened in 1893, recognized as Boucheron’s flagship. With the sunlight gleaming through the store’s large windows, a spark to the pieces’ gleam is added.

New designs in the boutique welcome visitors into a jewel in itself. With its lovely décor and bold finishing touches, the haute couture jewellery house not only welcomed a newly renovated look but also a new collection for people to take pleasure in. Everything is properly set and organized to emphasize the boutique’s beautiful aspect along with the jewellery’s wonderfully graceful features.

As we make our way into the boutique, surrounded by new mesmerizing elements, we step into a new world. Allow us to take a moment to visualize the fantastic feeling of a summer’s cool breeze blowing on a stunning Mediterranean beach; as one’s toes sink beneath the sand while the sun’s rays are reflected on the clear glistening blue waters, everything comes to life.

Boucheron’s new collection is practically created for the onlooker as well as the wearer to envisage such grandeur.

Shortly after the birth of a newly decorated boutique was born and presented to the public, Boucheron also welcomed a new collection entitled Dolce Riviera, translated into ‘sweet Riviera’. The visit could be summed up as a “sweet” and delectable experience altogether.

As visitors made their way to the boutique’s top floor, stunning jewels twinkled from the distance. Dazzling creations are presented for people to closely examine the marvellous æsthetic features included in each piece. From colours to artistic combinations, the wonderful atmosphere of Boucheron’s new season’s collection symbolizes elegance; observing each piece was like a cool breeze on a brisk summer evening.

Each ensemble is named after five of the Mediterranean’s most alluring places.

Precious stones from the Dolce Riviera collection include yellow sapphires, rubellite beads, red corals, turquoise, cultured pearls, cabochon emeralds, diamond beads and other pieces that all create stunningly magnificent designs. The experience is an escape from reality, taking guests on a trip to another destination where the hot flaming sun, the blue ocean, the cool breeze and the sand all call out from the distance.

Isola Bella, one of the Barromean Islands of Lago Maggiore situated in the north of Italy, is the first of five sets that we find. It possesses young and beautifully colourful effects. The details are incredibly spectacular and the formations are impressive.

The Isola Bella necklace represents such lavishness, set with tourmaline and rubellite beads, placed side by side with yellow sapphires, emerald and spessertaite garnets, paved with a mix of emeralds, yellow and pink sapphires and diamonds, the whole aspect is truly a creative structure. The wearer can detach the necklace and wear it as a bracelet or she can shorten the necklace to wear according to her convenience.

The precious stones in the collection are clear and provide an almost see-through effect. They are beautifully put together to create a pleasurable creation that women would enjoy. Along with the Isola Bella necklace, the collection includes a ring, a bracelet and two different pairs of earrings, one being a more sophisticated design while the other is slightly more casual.

From vividly vibrant colours to dazzlingly classical, the next collection, the Paraggi, the name of a bay in Italy located between Santa Margherita Ligure and Portofino, exposes a less colourful effect. The main precious stones that we find in this collection are cultured pearls. A slight dab of colour brings each piece to life, using red corals and turquoise. The designs of the Paraggi collection are simple;, it includes a matching necklace, bracelet and ring to fully complete the ensemble.

From fun, to simple, to a stylishly seductive appeal we arrive at the Beau Rivage, translated as the ‘beautiful shore’ in French. The first piece that we find in this collection is a necklace that introduces the pieces that follow. With a large cabochon emerald in the centre, that can also be detached to be worn separately as a broche, the sapphire and diamond beads around it creating an oceanic effect. A matching pair of earrings and a bracelet contributes to the highly sensual feeling that the Beau Rivage collection conveys.

An even more refined look is found in the Capricciolli set. The cabochon emerald is the main precious stone that is used within this collection. The highlight of the collection is the Capricciolli watch bracelet, formed in a spiral to hug a woman’s wrist. A secretive aspect is hidden within, one that only the wearer would know about as she discreetly checks the time with a slight twist of the sliding system.

In the last set featured in the Dolce Riviera collection, Aiguebelle, an oval opal cabochon is the centre of attention. With the colour of the opal cabochon resembling the sea’s reflection under the sun, everything is designed together to create an enthrallingly original effect that the public will appreciate.

A captivating experience awaits people from the time the boutique’s doors open until they close. Each set of the new season’s collection is a step towards another one of nature’s picture-perfect paradises that provide a sense of la dolce vita via the Dolce Riviera. •

Lola Saab is Paris editor of Lucire.

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Paraggi earrings
Beau Rivage necklace
Capriccioli bracelet watch
Isola Bella ring
Paraggi necklace