Celebrity Life

Are jewellery brands moving beyond his and hers once and for all? Prestige speaks to brands big and small about genderless jewellery.

The topic of boys in bling isn’t new – even in this publication, we’ve noticed a rising trend in mainstream jewellery brands that, in the past year or so, have recruited male ambassadors and male models to showcase their latest collections.

Did Harry Styles start it? Some have pointed to the British singer’s red-carpet look at the 2019 Met Gala, when he paired his Gucci ensemble with a single pearl earring. Perhaps. It certainly marked a turning point for men’s accessories in recent years – since then, Styles’ sartorial sensibility has transcended the simple earring to include your grandmother’s pearls and feather boas, inspiring his peers to dress louder, bolder and more gender-fluid. The Jonas Brothers have been spotted rocking the pearl necklace, as has Shawn Mendes. Jake Gyllenhaal has been photographed wearing a simple gold chain necklace time and again. Appropriating “men’s jewellery” to simply watches, signet rings and cufflinks is no longer so appropriate.

Gender is a construct, socially imposed from the moment we’re born, divided into different things, activities, colours or careers deemed suitable for boys or girls. There’s nothing inherent in flowers and dolls that make them more appealing to girls, nothing to dictate that rocket ships and cars are made for boys (girls can play too, but they’re then labelled tomboys) – but somehow they’ve persisted well into the 21st century.

Few things around us are truly gender-neutral, though with changing attitudes towards gender and deeper conversations into inclusivity and representation, this is now changing.

The concept of genderless jewellery isn’t anything new but the years 2020 and beyond have shown an evident shift from mere trend to something that’s here to stay. Previously, genderless jewellery was seen as out of the box and utterly revolutionary – Italian jewellery designer Aldo Cipullo was well ahead of his time when, in 1969 and 1971 respectively, he designed the Cartier Love and Juste un Clou bracelets. The former was inspired by everyday screws and the latter inspired by the humble nail, speaking to the designer’s minimalist and androgynous style beloved by both men and women.

These days, the concept of gender-free jewellery has become the norm. Embodying the more audacious spirit, Roman jeweller Bvlgari has arguably been a champion of this category with its bestselling B.zero1 collection. The collection debuted in 1999, when Bvlgari decided to marry innovation with one of Rome’s most historic monuments – the Colosseum – to create an entirely unconventional and avant-garde design. It was the first collection to be described as unisex by the brand itself.

A major success, it inspired more iterations, from collaborations with the late architect Zaha Hadid, who reimagined the industrial, cylindrical shape with her fluid, undulating aesthetics, to the latest B.zero1 Rock collection, which adds irreverent studs to the design’s central band.

Even pearls – not just traditionally viewed as feminine, but also decidedly old-fashioned – were given an unexpected boost of gender-free appeal when Mikimoto partnered with Comme des Garçons to unveil the fashion label’s first jewellery collection in 2020. As a forerunner of avant-garde fashion under the leadership of Rei Kawakubo, Comme des Garçons challenged the norms of beauty and tradition – why can’t men also wear pearls? Through the collaboration, both brands aimed to adorn the necks of all, regardless of age or gender. Pearls were suddenly cool again when paired with chunky silver chains and emblazoned with the Comme des Garçons logo.

Louis Vuitton’s Volt collection by artistic director Francesca Amfitheatrof is another stellar example of jewellery transcending borders and genders. The brand takes inspiration from its classic leitmotif, allowing the capital L and V letters to intersect, stack up together, or connect at the ends to form lightning-bolt and pulse-line designs – new shapes that are decidedly graphic and cool. There’s a chain-link design as well as a mesh, presenting the L and V letters in myriad textures, finishes and dimensions with great gender-neutral appeal.

Expanding the Volt collection this year, Louis Vuitton brings us the LV Volt Upside Down, playfully turning the letters L and V on their heads to form lively and energising patterns in yellow- and white-gold pendants, highlighted with diamonds. There are radiant rings and bracelets that can be stacked and layered, and even a rocker-chic ear cuff that adds a bold and modern twist to the collection.

Locally, we see brands enthusiastically dressing up our city’s most treasured male idols. Hong Kong-based designers, too, are creating for a more gender-fluid crowd, utilising abstract themes and aesthetics that are universally appealing.

ZNS Jewellery is a brand-new concept that comes under long-established Hong Kong jeweller KS Sze & Sons and is headed by co-founder and chief creative officer Alan Chan. The traditional jeweller and the well-known designer had no qualms about entering the jewellery market anew, with a new attitude and gender-free positioning they believe was still underrepresented.

A philosophy, rather than material inspiration was Chan’s starting point. “Despite my many years of experience in design, I’m a newcomer to the jewellery business and to come up with an original and unique concept in this competitive market is never easy,” he explains. “I looked back at my life to uncover the belief and values close to my heart that I wanted to crystalise in my design – the notion of “from eternity to infinity” is what I’ve instilled in my jewellery concept. This philosophy became the groundwork.”

ZNS, with an audacious motto – See No Limits – showcases jewellery that’s more abstract. “It shows the symbolic values instead of how much the diamond costs,” says Chan. The ZNS collection features the letter Z interpreted in various ways, depicting the infinity sign, or interlinked in chains. Many pieces are designed to be transformable, allowing the wearer to incorporate the jewellery into their everyday lifestyle with ease.

“With growing trends of brands positioning themselves around their values or attitudes, I envisage that gender-free or gender-specific will no longer be an issue,” Chan says of the future of jewellery design. “Only the ideas matter.”

And not just in fine jewellery. Boucheron has emerged as one of the traditional jewellery maisons to wholeheartedly embrace gender fluidity in its high-jewellery collections. The brand’s highly regarded Quatre fine-jewellery collection was already deemed unisex when it launched in 2004.

“High jewellery shouldn’t just be for women,” Claire Choisne, the house’s creative director said. “Boucheron wants men to wear our jewellery because we also design pieces for them. In fact, high jewellery has always been something for men: it was initially created for men, who adorned themselves with jewels at the time of the kings and maharajahs. It’s therefore quite natural to create high-jewellery pieces for men. Jewellery is not about gender, but about style. It allows everyone to express their unique personality.”

Choisne believes there should be no boundaries when it comes to who can and cannot carry her jewellery – this was evident in her jewellery campaign for her latest collection, where both sexes were dressed based solely on what looked good on them, regardless of their gender.

“We create jewellery for women and men who love freedom and independence and know what they want, and that best reflects their personality and taste,” says Choisne. “We want to enable them to tell their story in their own way. Creative freedom is at the heart of our philosophy. This means that our customers are free from any constraints when they wear our pieces … We want women and men to be able to wear our creations as they see fit.”

The post Genderless Jewellery: Going Beyond His and Hers appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

House of Gucci is set to take Hollywood by storm with its high-octane plot, charismatic stars, intrigue, glamour, and a whole lot of fabulous fashion courtesy of the namesake fashion house. Fans have long been lapping up the various period-appropriate couture pieces that have been released thus far, but the first trailer has given us a wider look into the world of Gucci, elaborate costumes and jewellery abound.

There's already Oscar buzz surrounding the movie, which centres around Patrizia Reggiani, the ex-wife of Maurizio Gucci who's convicted of hiring a hitman to murder her husband, played by Lady Gaga. Janty Yates is the costume designer, and the production has been granted full access to the Gucci archives — be prepared to see Gaga, Adam Driver, Salma Hayek, Jared Leto and Al Pacino don the most outrageously glamorous ensembles through the 1970s to 1990s.

But Gucci isn't the only designer or brand featured in the film. There are fabulous jewels to be seen everywhere. Bvlgari is prominently featured in a few key scenes from the trailer. In one, Lady Gaga opted for a high jewellery necklace from the new Le Magnifiche collection in platinum with 11 oval rubies, 77 round brilliant-cut diamonds and pavé-set diamonds, paired with earrings in platinum with 2 oval rubies, round brilliant-cut diamonds and pavé-set diamonds.

In another major moment, the actress wears a jewellery set from the Heritage collection: a necklace in gold with amethysts, vitrines, pink tourmalines, emeralds, sapphires and diamonds from 1991, which is paired with earrings in gold with amethysts, vitrines, emeralds and diamonds from 1989, a Serpenti Tubogas Heritage collection bracelet in gold with amethysts and diamonds circa 1972 and a Serpenti Tubogas Heritage collection bracelet in gold, amethysts, rutilated quartzes and diamonds circa 1977.

House of Gucci opens in theatres in the United States on November 24, 2021.

The post Lady Gaga’s Fabulous Jewels in House of Gucci Biopic appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

The stack is back — ring stacks, arm stacks, you name it, are coming back in a big way this summer. From structural and striking bangles from Dior to diamond-studded necklaces the likes of Messika and more, shop our curation and stack to your heart's content.

Bvlgari Fiorever

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Bulgari’s flower motif in the Fiorever collection, with its distinctive four-petalled corolla, now comes in a scaled-down new size that can be worn on its own or layered. The pendants come in white or rose gold with diamonds. There’s also a version in white gold with a blue sapphire centre, and one in rose gold with a ruby centre.

Gem Dior

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Designed by Victoire de Castellane, the Gem Dior fine-jewellery collection plays on the idea of abstract-organic shapes and is inspired by colour palettes from Dior’s archives. The rings and cuff bracelets, already a unique design on their own, appears even more striking when worn altogether.

Messika Move 10th

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From the moment Valerie Messika created her namesake brand, she knew she wanted to showcase diamonds freely and allow them to move as if they were loose and sliding through the fingers. The Move 10th is the signature design’s 10th-anniversary evolution, a sleek drop pendant style with three moving diamonds that are perfect for stacking.

Gigi Clozeau

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Dainty and colourful, Gigi Clozeau's bracelets are handmade by skilled artisans at the label's family-run workshop in the South of France. Crafted in 18k gold, and dotted with polished resin beads in punchy and fun hues, the bracelets feature glossy pendants such as a playful cactus (in red), the evil eye (in blue) or the Madone charm (in green). Available at Net-a-Porter.

Sydney Evan

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Sydney Evan's whimsical designs with its beautifully faceted semi-precious stones are highly sought after by an A-list celebrity clientele — each piece is highly meaningful, featuring motifs that inspire hope and positive change.

(Header image: From Lauren Rubinski's chunky gold-chain bracelets to diamond-studded rings by Anita Ko and Repossi, Net-a-Porter has a wide selection of stackable rings, bracelets and necklaces.)

This story first appeared in print in Prestige Hong Kong.

The post These Jewels are Made for Stacking appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Created as a tribute to the legendary beauty and rich history of the jeweller’s hometown, Bvlgari’s Fiorever collection brings to dazzling glory a four-petalled wild bloom found on several Roman landmarks and decorating frescoes in the ancient city of Pompeii. The signature motif also draws from Bvlgari’s own heritage, with floral-inspired creations that include its Giardini Italiani high-jewellery collection in 2015 and date as far back as its diamond brooches from the 1920s.

Unveiled last year, the unique design features petals that tilt upward around the central stone in order to tempt the wearer to touch it as they would an actual flower. Fiorever has undergone a further transformation for 2019, thanks to the addition of white and yellow diamonds. A new white- diamond parure consists of a necklace, bracelet and earrings paved in shimmering stones. Also new are extremely lightweight diamond hoop earrings and single-flower pendants on long diamond-studded chains, as well as stackable open bangles with a blossom on each end. [inline_related_article article_id="170726"]
This year’s collection is also the first to feature yellow diamonds, which take pride of place in the centre of the motif as surrounding petals of white-diamond pavé evoke a living bloom. Each stone is exceptional for its fancy vivid hue, round shape and remarkable quality, resulting in limited quantities of the yellow-diamond ring and necklace.

[gallery ids="182658,182656,182655,182654"]

Not content to stop there, Bulgari has also introduced a high-jewellery collection for Fiorever. Each one-of- a-kind masterpiece is designed to capture the fleeting beauty of a wild bloom in a form that will last forever – or, in the words of Bulgari, “a jewel as bold and enduring as The Eternal City itself”.

This story first appeared on PrestigeOnline Hong Kong

The post Sparkle and shine with Bvlgari’s Fiorever Collection appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Created as a tribute to the legendary beauty and rich history of the jeweller’s hometown, Bulgari’s Fiorever collection brings to dazzling glory a four-petalled wild bloom found on several Roman landmarks and decorating frescoes in the ancient city of Pompeii. The signature motif also draws from Bulgari’s own heritage, with floral-inspired creations that include its Giardini Italiani high-jewellery collection in 2015 and date as far back as its diamond brooches from the 1920s.

Unveiled last year, the unique design features petals that tilt upward around the central stone in order to tempt the wearer to touch it as they would an actual flower. Fiorever has undergone a further transformation for 2019, thanks to the addition of white and yellow diamonds. A new white- diamond parure consists of a necklace, bracelet and earrings paved in shimmering stones. Also new are extremely lightweight diamond hoop earrings and single-flower pendants on long diamond-studded chains, as well as stackable open bangles with a blossom on each end.
This year’s collection is also the first to feature yellow diamonds, which take pride of place in the centre of the motif as surrounding petals of white-diamond pavé evoke a living bloom. Each stone is exceptional for its fancy vivid hue, round shape and remarkable quality, resulting in limited quantities of the yellow-diamond ring and necklace.

[gallery ids="182658,182656,182655,182654"]

Not content to stop there, Bulgari has also introduced a high-jewellery collection for Fiorever. Each one-of- a-kind masterpiece is designed to capture the fleeting beauty of a wild bloom in a form that will last forever – or, in the words of Bulgari, “a jewel as bold and enduring as The Eternal City itself”.

The post Introducing the Newest Additions of Bvlgari’s Fiorever Collection appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

[caption id="attachment_157816" align="alignnone" width="4480"] Joséphine Aigrette Impériale diamond tiara Chaumet | Diamond ear clips and emerald ring with diamonds Chopard | Diamond brooch Chanel | Carpet diamond bracelet Harry Winston | Jacket Chanel | Gown Monique Lhullier at Central Weddings | Heels Christian Louboutin[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_157812" align="alignnone" width="2240"] Bow diamond earring and necklace; flame round diamond ring Graff | Gown and veil Muse by Berta at Audella Bridal House[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_157809" align="alignnone" width="4480"] Boucle Précieuse bracelet with pearls and diamonds Mikimoto | Diamond watch Chanel[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_157817" align="alignnone" width="4480"] Kissing fancy pink round brilliant diamond necklace and earrings' diamond wedding band Boghossian | Gown Alessandra Rinaudo at Central Weddings[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_157815" align="alignnone" width="4480"] White Kites diamond earring and ring Hearts on Fire | Mini Twist by Harry Winston diamond watch Harry Winston | Gown Monique Lhullier at Central Weddings[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_157813" align="alignnone" width="4480"] Scroll diamond tiara' Promise round diamond ring; Spiral pavé diamond ring in white gold; Foliage diamond earring Graff ||Gown Muse by Berta at Audella Bridal House[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_157810" align="alignnone" width="4480"] Bois de Rose diamond earring; Rose Dior Bagatelle diamond necklace and bracelet; Rose Dior Bagatelle diamond ring with pink sapphires and tsavorite garnets Dior Joaillerie | Gown Monique Lhullier at Central Weddings[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_157814" align="alignnone" width="5906"] White-gold wedding band with diamonds; platinum wedding band with diamond; rose-gold wedding band with diamonds (right hand) De Beers | Diva's Dream diamond earrings Bulgari | Palmyre diamond necklace; Akarova ballerina brooch Van Cleef & Arpels | Solitaire diamond ring ; diamond wedding band (left hand) De Beers | Gown Antonio Riva at Audella Bridal House[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_157818" align="alignnone" width="4480"] Gold-tone pearl headpiece 14/Quatorze at Net-a-Porter.com | White South Sea pearls with diamond earrings; Universe Elements ring with white South Sea pearls and diamonds Mikimoto[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_157811" align="alignnone" width="2240"] Archi Dior Milieu de Siècle diamond earrings; Archi Dior Diorama diamond necklace; Archi Dior Bar en Corolle diamond ring; Archi Dior Ailée diamond bracelet Dior Joaillerie | Gown Marchesa at Central Weddings Veill Audella Bridal House[/caption]

Photography KC 

Styling Cynthia Hung 

Hair Nicky Wong 

Makeup Cac Leung 

Model Alena M at Sun Esee

Special thanks The Murray 

The post Our Picks of Gowns and Jewellery to Ensure Fabulous Nuptials appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

The new version of Serpenti as seen on the striking supermodel Lily Aldridge.

The post Bulgari: The 2018 Serpenti Collection appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.