Chanel imbues its latest high jewellery collection with a sporty spirit

No limits

When we sat down with Marianne Etchebarne, the global head of watches and fine jewellery product marketing, clients and communications at Chanel discussed the unconventional nature of the Sport collection. “It’s really a tribute to the spirit and sporty style of Gabrielle Chanel,” said Etchebarne. “In the 1920s, she [promoted] the freedom of women, creating designs to help women to move ahead and to live an active life.”

Mademoiselle Chanel herself walked the talk, and was known to love horseback riding, golf, skiing, yachting, fishing and more. Naturally, she adapted her clothing designs for this lifestyle. Ease of movement was similarly a key consideration when Patrice Leguéreau, the director of Chanel’s Fine Jewellery Creation Studio, and his team were designing the Sport pieces.

Specifically, each piece was crafted to complement the body’s natural movements, echoing the fluidity of high‑performance sportswear—a concept rarely associated with high jewellery but certainly welcome by the modern woman looking for something novel. “All the pieces are really designed to fit the body and [allow for] the freedom of movement,” Etchebarne expounded. “And every element, from the design to the selection of colours and materials, and the technique, everything comes together to allow movement.”

Overall, the collection’s aesthetic is dynamic with a functional approach; a testament to the maison’s commitment to innovation in design, pushing boundaries in ways that may surprise traditionalists. Sport is made up of six sub‑themes: Sweater, Graphic Line, Chanel Print, Quilted Icons, Sporty 5 and Gold Slider, across which Leguéreau and his team revisited Mademoiselle Chanel’s famous symbols with a sporty twist, introducing several firsts for the brand along the way.

Perhaps most controversially, Sport sees elements of the Chanel logo enter the realm of high jewellery for the first time. Several examples can be found among the Chanel Print pieces, such as a brooch featuring a lion’s head—a house motif symbolising Mademoiselle Chanel’s zodiac sign Leo—with an openwork mane composed of jumbled‑up letters of the brand’s name, rendered in white gold and set with diamonds, interspersed with red lacquer beads.

This move blurs the lines between high jewellery and branded luxury accessories, potentially sparking debate among purists. Addressing this bold decision, Etchebarne explained: “For the first time, you have the Chanel [branding], but not to the degree of big letters saying ‘Chanel’. Instead, we have the letters of ‘Chanel’ done in openwork, like a lace of diamonds, which I think keeps [things] elegant and subtle; a story for the wearer to tell.”

Gear up

Further challenging conventions, the Sport collection incorporates high‑tech materials that are, again, not typically associated with high jewellery—another first for Chanel. “[These] are not by themselves top in value or scarcity, but are combined with some of the most precious materials,” shared Etchebarne, citing examples such as the Chanel Print cuff, which combines dazzling diamonds with lightweight, durable carbon fibre—a material more commonly found in sports equipment, including racing cars and bicycles, than in high jewellery.

On the use of carbon fibre, Etchebarne said: “We wanted something wearable and not too heavy for the customer—and this led us to explore carbon, which is very light and resistant at the same time. It was a challenge because our high jewellery workshop is not used to working with carbon.”

For the Chanel Print cuff, the carbon fibre was first moulded to the desired shape and then laser engraved to achieve a subtle pattern composed of the letters of “Chanel”. “The laser engraving,” Etchebarne let on, “was super difficult because, for us, the letters have to be very precise. This is the typeface of Chanel, the signature of our pieces, and it was very hard—it took a lot of time. If you look deeper, [you’ll notice that] the effect is like textured fabric.”

Anodised aluminium is another high‑tech material that appears in the Chanel Print cuff, as well as other Sport creations. Chosen for its lightness and resistance, it is seen in the collection in various colours. Largely, it is coloured to match the hues of the gems set on it, to create a more streamlined effect. Correspondingly, the cuff features red aluminium, to twin with the precious rubies on it. “Patrice wanted to have this effect of the full, continuous red line,” explained Etchebarne. “These very neat, precise, straight lines also give this idea of movement and feeling of liveliness.”

Another unique feature of the Chanel Print cuff is its transformability. It comes with interchangeable shells: two halves in white gold set with diamonds, and two halves in carbon. The cuff can thus be worn in three ways: as the full white gold and diamond version; the full carbon version; and a mix of the two.

Etchebarne believes that this transformable cuff might well also be a first in the world of high jewellery. “It shows that this collection is daring and also, in a way, promotes the values of sport,” she said. “When we think of sport in general, we think of passion. We think of pushing the boundaries, going to extremes, and there is this notion of excellence.”

Home run

The Sport collection’s functionality extends to its innovative clasps and connection systems, such as a carabiner‑inspired clasp shaped like Chanel’s number five motif, which is a homage to Mademoiselle Chanel’s favourite number. This can be seen on a transformable Sporty 5 necklace, where the clasp allows the two dangling pendants to be removed and worn on an accompanying pair of earrings.

Another example of a new clasp can be found on one of the collection’s hero pieces: the Graphic Line necklace in platinum and white gold set with a breathtaking, rare central 10.15‑carat cushion‑cut sapphire—one of five exceptional ones sourced from Kashmir. This necklace, which adorned Knightley’s neck at the launch event in Monaco, is a sight to behold from the front, with its distinctive chevron pattern and gradation of 24.35 carats of baguette‑cut rubies in clean, minimalist lines that suggest movement and direction.

But Leguéreau and Chanel’s Fine Jewellery Creation Studio have also achieved the remarkable feat of crafting the back of the necklace as well as its reverse side to be just as exquisite. Securing it at the back of the neck is a new, innovative swivel clasp that functions like the one on the maison’s iconic 2.55 bag. Further, in yet another first for the house, the Chanel branding can be found on the underside of the necklace, for its lucky owner’s eyes only.

While Chanel is taking an unconventional approach to high jewellery with Sport, extraordinary gemstones still remain at the heart of the collection, showcasing the maison’s strong commitment to exceptional craftsmanship and rarity. The previously mentioned Kashmir sapphires, totalling 42.86 carats, are particularly notable, as they were secured after more than five years of meticulous sourcing and curation.

“The set of Kashmir sapphires took many years to get because each stone is exceptional. And [what’s] more exceptional is the presence of the five—a number we love,” said Etchebarne. Each was carefully selected to harmonise in colour, cut, shape, crystal quality and the interplay of brilliance, creating a cohesive and unparalleled set. The largest, at 17.18 carats, is set on a Graphic Line ring that is the most valuable piece in the Sport collection. The 6.36‑carat sapphire, meanwhile, is set on another Graphic Line ring, with those weighing 4.77 and 4.40 carats going on a pair of Graphic Line earrings.

“My hope is that one customer will get all five of these sapphires,” admitted Etchebarne. “There is the individual value of each one, which is unprecedented. But to get all five … is really something else because each stone is of the same exceptional quality and that’s why we’ve grouped them together.”

For the discerning jewellery lover, Sport offers more than mere adornment; it presents an opportunity to wear a piece of history and to embrace a new, more dynamic vision of high jewellery. Each piece in the collection is a bold statement that challenges the status quo, embracing the freedom and allure of women while blending Chanel’s elegant and iconic codes with sporty flair.

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