Boucheron’s new Ailleurs high jewellery will set your heart aflutter

By Joshua Hendren

The natural world is brought to life in Boucheron’s latest high jewellery collection. Against a backdrop of vibrant hues and rare gemstones, Ailleurs – or Elsewhere – explores the rare beauty of Mother Earth through five sets of sculptural jewellery – Sand Woman, Leaf Woman, Earth Woman, Pebble Woman and Volcano Man.

Geometric lines and bejewelled creatures are cast in gleaming metals and natural fibres, lending a textural yet precious feel to this latest offering. The butterfly is a recurrent motif throughout the collection, elegantly carved in abstract silhouettes and kaleidoscopic colour. The Papillon brooch – a piece of the Leaf Woman set – has been crafted using forward-thinking technology, lending the jewel a featherlight construction.

The brooch reproduces the appearance of the butterfly through real Lideopsis Vulgaris butterfly wings, which have been treated to be long-lasting before being scanned to create a gold structure that holds them together, reproducing their original curves. Another piece to receive the hyper-realised treatment is the Papillon Diamant, a single earring from the Earth Woman set. Vibrating to the same beat as real beetle wings, the piece rests delicately on the top of the ear while a pear-shaped diamond surrounds the earlobe.

Ailleurs may not be a collection for the faint-hearted, but it will reward those in search of boldness and escapist fantasy. After all, there is nothing quite as magical as the beauty of Mother Earth.

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