The Dublin Link To Chanel’s Coco Crush Fine Jewellery Collection
By Sarah Macken
Add Chanel’s Coco Crush fine jewellery collection to your wish-list as the ultimate in luxury …
Gabrielle Chanel once said that “a woman needs ropes and ropes of pearls”. Chanel was famous for wearing exaggerated lengths of pearls, both faux and freshwater, that she knotted and draped around her neck. In fact, they were so elongated, they measured four metres: a replica is still available to order for Chanel clients today.
Chanel also said that her jewels represented ideas, first and foremost. She wanted to “cover women with constellations”. A viewing of Coco Crush, Chanel’s much-loved fine jewellery collection certainly feels this way. There are star details and more than one celestial reference: the designer often highlighted the moon and sun. These symbols, alongside the lion to represent her Leo zodiac sign and a crystal ball, also adorned her Rue Cambon apartment where she would present her early jewellery collections using wax figurines for authenticity. Her first jewellery collection was presented in 1932. Indeed, Chanel was the first fashion house to have a jewellery collection.
The Première Édition black steel-coated watch, €5,650, features an interlaced leather chain, inspired by the house’s coveted handbags.
The Coco Crush fine jewellery collection, which is currently on display in Brown Thomas, Dublin for a limited period, is, arguably, the most quintessentially Chanel. It’s based around the quilted motif which has been an emblem of the house since 1985, adorning classic handbags, like the 2.55, ever since. Coco Crush also has a pleasing Irish connection. The former director of Chanel’s fine jewellery studio, the late Patrice Leguéreau, was married to an Irish woman and, incidentally, designed the collection from the kitchen table of his Dublin home in 2016.
A standout piece in the collection is the Première Édition black steel-coated watch, €5,650, featuring an interlaced leather chain, inspired by the house’s coveted handbags. Its shape is a mirror image of Place Vendôme in Paris. Another notable feature in the collection is the presence of beige gold: Chanel’s elevated take on the rose gold trend, the exact combination of alloys used to achieve the ‘beige’ hue remains a house secret, although the colour gets its name from the warm hues of Deauville’s beaches. Naturally, Chanel’s obsession with the number five, which she believed to be her personal lucky charm, is ever-present. A striking camellia ring, €7,800, bears five petals.
Our favourite pieces? An 18 karat gold quilted motif bangle, €10,500, with diamonds stood out as the kind of classic piece you’d see French women remixing with a stack of vintage and new bracelets in mixed metals for a look that’s anything but stuffy. Perhaps the zenith of luxury was a camellia 18 karat rose gold and diamond transformable necklace (this snuck in from a neighbouring Camélia collection and costs a cool €27,000) which this writer can attest had multiple uses including anklet and belt – according to a Chanel staff member who’d counted, its total uses lands at 27. It was screaming out to be worn with a backless black dress or a freshly-starched white shirt: chic.
Trying the camellia 18 karat gold and diamond transformable necklace that costs a cool €27,000.
Attempting a Frenchwoman-inspired stack.
READ MORE: Diamond Savant Jessica McCormack Launches A Decadent Collection Of Objets For The Home
