Piaget’s Metaphoria high jewellery bridges past and present

By Felix Bischof

With its Metaphoria collection of high jewellery, Piaget bridges its past and present. There is a principle of pleasure to Piaget high jewellery collection. It’s something, a creative leitmotif perhaps, that was first set in stone by Yves Piaget in 1969. Then, the Swiss heritage brand’s president first unveiled his 21^st Century Collection, a group of bejewelled watches that broke with tradition. There were dials cut from ornamental hardstones of exuberant colours and textures, sautoirs watches fitted with glowing gold chains and timepieces in the shape of cuff bracelets. “Experimentation, innovation and joy are part of the maison’s DNA,” explains Piaget CEO Benjamin Comar.  

Cue Metaphoria, Piaget’s latest high jewellery offering unveiled at the end of last week with an event in Florence, Italy. Finished in Switzerland, at the Piaget master workshops in Geneva, Metaphoria counts 41 pieces of jewellery. There are also 11 watches and all creations are grouped into two thematic chapters, Azureia and Beautanica.  

A tribute to the brand’s vibrant past and legacy of daring, Metaphoria is also a nod to beauty found in nature. Nature, from the bud of a flower to a biard’s wing, has long been a muse to Piaget. But, it’s a theme that at the maison never leads to figurative pieces. Instead, Piaget may loosely interpret views of nature. “Our goal was to emphasise details that call to mind natural phenomena, such as the flow of a waterfall or the rays of the sun,” explains Stéphanie Sivrière, creative director at Piaget. Elsewhere, the brand likes to mix and match precious metals and gems with other, less conventional ingredients found in nature. ” The materials we use, from insect elytra to precious wood, were selected to bring an unpredictable, living element to a piece of 21st century high jewellery.” 

Marquee pieces of Metaphoria include a white gold Mineralis set comprised of a necklace, a choice of two rings and a striking ear cuff. Each Mineralis piece captures the wild waters of an imagined mountain river with asymmetrical shapes and an aqua colour palette of diamonds, sapphires, clear rock crystal and aquamarines. The parure’s necklace has at its centre a lagoon-blue 13.25-carat cushion-cut aquamarine.  

The plumage of a fantastical bird gives shape to the Alata set. Assembled from feather-like shapes of yellow and white gold, some engraved to Piaget’s signature Décor Palace finish, and dotted with diamonds and accents of gold and white mother of pearl, Alara counts a necklace, an ear cuff, an earring and a sensational cuff watch.  

Speaking of watches, Metaphoria’s 11 timepieces are museum-worthy. An Undulata model frames a pictoral dial dreamt up by master artisan Rose Saneuil and put together from cuts of straw, sycamore, elytron, parchment and leather marquetry in a white gold case lavished with white diamonds. A white gold Adrivea cocktail ring sparkles with white diamonds and hides a mini secret watch underneath a cabochon-cut aquamarine. And a Venilia watch is set with a black opal dial, much in the manner of Yves Piaget’s 21^st Century Collection. It’s all in the nature of Piaget.

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