When Princess Elizabeth turned eighteen in 1944, she received a Boucheron aquamarine and diamond double clip brooch. She would continue to wear this sentimental design throughout her reign. In 2020, Claire Choisne, Creative Director of Boucheron, decided to take inspiration from this unique piece to create a High Jewelry collection reinterpreting the famous Art Deco design through eighteen contemporary new designs.Histoire de Style, Like a Queen draws inspiration from an icon whose style transcended decades.
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| HYPNOTIC BLUE |
“Three years ago, when I started looking for inspirations for this collection in the Boucheron archives, I couldn’t get my mind off that Art Deco double clip brooch, explains Claire Choisne. The severity and geometry of the Art Deco design, tempered by the softness and light blue hue of the aquamarines, always fascinated me. I was touched by the sentimental value of this double clip, which Queen Elizabeth II wore at pivotal moments in her reign.”This piece of jewelry joined the British Royal Family on July 31, 1937 through Prince George, Duke of Kent, who purchased it from the Boucheron boutique in London.
Seven years later, the family gave it to Princess Elizabeth for her eighteenth birthday. Throughout her reign, Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, wore it on a number of occasions, most notably including her Diamond Jubilee on June 5, 2012 ; on May 8, 2020, for the 75th anniversary of the speech by George VI announcing the end of World War II ; and on the 70th anniversary of her coronation on February 6, 2022.
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| LEMON SLICE |
Inspired by Queen Elizabeth’s distinctive style, formidable character and effervescent presence, Claire Choisne thought it most fitting to work with this particular design and to bring it up-to-date in a collection that surpasses all genres.
“Being able to wear a piece in a number of ways, as well as the use of color, were central to our work on this collection, so that both men and women may wear these pieces. We wanted these eighteen variations to reflect the ease with which the original was worn, since the two clips may be attached in various ways, on their own or together. We also wanted this collection to convey the elegance distinctive of this Art Deco piece.
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MOON WHITE |
”Thus, each piece of this Histoire de Style line reflects the unique spirit of the two cerulean clips. “On certain jewelry sets, we broke down the original geometry of the design.
On others, we took the opposite approach: we compacted the Art Deco design. And elsewhere, we brought in another dimension by playing on the colors of the gemstones.
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ROLLING RED |
”A cherry ruby necklace, a pink tourmaline brooch, an azure aquamarine cuff bracelet, earrings adorned with lush emeralds... Histoire de Style, Like a Queen stands out with its monochrome plays on joyful, intense colors, inspired by the spirit of the bright outfits that Queen Elizabeth famously wore.Like a story told through eighteen chapters, Histoire de Style, Like a Queen transcends its initial objective – to construct a full High Jewelry collection inspired by a single piece – and offers a glimpse of the true genius behind its design.
