De Beers reveals its new Alchemist of Light high jewellery

By Kim Parker

Rihanna was right. There’s simply nothing on earth that shines ‘bright like a diamond’. And this year De Beers, the luxury jeweller synonymous with this most precious of gemstones, has chosen to celebrate the way a diamond interacts with light to produce its infamous, much-coveted sparkle with a new high jewellery collection the Alchemist of Light collection.

“We were inspired by light as a transformative force – we can’t see light itself but the way it reflects allows us to perceive everything around us,” says De Beers’ CEO Celine Assimon of the new line, dubbed ‘The Alchemist of Light.’ Composed of 45 one-of-a-kind creations (divided into seven themed ‘sets’), the Alchemist of Light will launch in two separate chapters, the first of which has just been revealed at Paris Couture week. 

The Atomique set is an artistic exploration of a diamond’s molecular structure, depicted in linear and geometric patterns. Created in icy white diamonds set in white gold, its monochromatic colour scheme channels the crystalline purity of a diamond’s chemical makeup. Though the set includes an astonishing ring set with a 11.03 carat round brilliant diamond from the house’s exceptional Natural Works of Art collection, and open hoop earrings composed of swirls of diamonds and white gold, the undoubted ‘star’ of the show is a breath-taking collier necklace, with a 18.57 carat, internally flawless diamond at its centre. Around it, a sculptural white gold lattice holds almost 2,000 other diamonds, resembling interlinked snowflakes suspended within a delicate bubble – a feat which took De Beer’s craftspeople a total of 1,820 hours to perfect.  

Suffused with yellow, orange and bronze tones, the Light Rays set takes its cue from the warmer colours found in sunlight. Fancy coloured polished diamonds are juxtaposed with rough stones (a De Beers signature), amplified by fan-shaped titanium motifs in complementary golden shades.  “It’s the first time De Beers uses titanium in a collection and it allowed us to experiment with bolder designs and colour,” notes Assimon of the motifs, which were carefully produced using a process called anodization. “Very few workshops are specialized in working with titanium as it’s very challenging,”

There are white diamonds here, too – this time set in graphic rows against black rhodium-plated gold, evoking shafts of light emerging between shadows. Micro-articulated joints allow each of the pieces to move and ‘float’ on the body, resulting in a tactile quality as ephemeral as light itself. 

As De Beer’s mission to give their clients more versatile ways to wear their diamonds, many of these new jewels are also transformable: a tasselled pendant can be detached to wear as a charm elsewhere; the Atomique Necklace has detachable diamonds that can be worn on stud earrings instead, and the Light Rays Collar Necklace can be worn with or without its dramatic black gold and diamond fringe. “These designs are fluid and transformable, reflecting light as a source of inspiration,” says Assimon. “We encourage our clients to express their unique personal style through the collection by taking on the role of an alchemist of light.” A fitting sentiment from the brand which, through ensuring its jewellery can be worn over and over for years to come, remains true to its most famous advertising slogan, coined for the firm in 1947 and repeated ad infinitum ever since: a diamond is forever. 

See our photo shoot of the best diamonds