Cover Backstage at the unveiling of Louis Vuitton’s high jewellery collection, Deep Time (Photo: Adam Katz Sinding)
Backstage at the unveiling of Louis Vuitton’s high jewellery collection, Deep Time (Photo: Adam Katz Sinding)
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In an exclusive interview with Tatler, Francesca Amfitheatrof, Louis Vuitton’s artistic director of watches and jewellery, talks sustainability and recycling—and shares her vision for the future of high jewellery
It was early summer and tourists were starting to fill every corner of Athens. Visiting historic monuments across the ancient city, you’re guaranteed to experience its enduring beauty and history. This is part of the reason Louis Vuitton unveiled its fifth high jewellery collection, its most ambitious to date, here in the cradle of one of the oldest civilisations.
“The Deep Time collection is a story born out of understanding the birth of our planet,” explains Francesca Amfitheatrof, the maison’s artistic director of watches and jewellery. Gemstones are a natural creation of the Earth. Some, such as diamond and zircon, were formed deep within the Earth and later erupted to the surface through volcanic activity. Others, like topaz, tourmaline and aquamarine, formed slowly from hot fluids and gases as they cooled and solidified deep beneath the planet’s surface. As Amfitheatrof sees it, this process creates an “imprint” of where we come from. Visiting Greece is like revisiting our origins, and understanding how they have contributed to shaping who we are today.
Read more: Louis Vuitton reimagines the Tambour watch
Above Francesca Amfitheatrof (Photo: Alique)
Francesca Amfitheatrof (Photo: Alique)
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Amfitheatrof’s impressive CV includes being the first female design director of Tiffany & Co. She led that storied jeweller’s success in the 2010s, her ultra-contemporary design philosophy combining with boundary-breaking collaborations to mark a new chapter in the industry. Her appointment as artistic director of watches and jewellery at Louis Vuitton in 2018 signalled a new era for the maison. With her bold, adventurous approach to jewellery design, her work quickly made a big impact despite the brand’s relatively young presence in the long-established, rarefied field.
“This, our fifth high jewellery collection under my vision, is a direct connection from how we first started in 2019,” says Amfitheatrof, referring to the pillars that the brand embraces: exploration of high-quality gemstones from lesser-known mines, versatility in styles, and creative freedom, to name a few. “We are maturing quite quickly, and our identity is only becoming stronger.”
Louis Vuitton’s largest high jewellery collection to date, Deep Time features a total of 170 unique pieces, including the 95 unveiled in Greece; the remaining pieces will be showcased early next year as the collection’s second chapter. The design takes inspiration from tectonic movements and ancient life forms, with a remarkable number of precious stones sourced from lesser-known mines that diverge from the commonly used sources of major brands. This is an important move that sets the maison’s creations apart.
Above The Fossils necklace (Photo: Adam Katz Sinding)
Above The Wave necklace (Photo: Adam Katz Sinding)
The Fossils necklace (Photo: Adam Katz Sinding)
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“We uncover new mines that have the same quality or better than the original sources that have been used so far,” the designer explains. Using stones from such mines is “a way for us to bring our clients to understand that we were once all connected through supercontinents and that the veins of precious stones were once one. Deep Time’s storytelling clearly takes you through this journey.”
The almost otherworldly nature of this collection is due in no small part to these stones. Take, for example, the ultra-rare, 40.80-carat Ceylon blue sapphire in the Wave necklace, one of Amfitheatrof’s favourite pieces in the collection; it is surrounded by diamonds, which have been meticulously placed to emulate the shape of surging waves. Or the emeralds and rubies in the Plants necklace, which are of a brilliant round cut rather than the more common emerald cut, resulting in what Amfitheatrof describes as “a museum piece”: “a rivière of round brilliant emeralds of this quality, purity and intensity of colour I will never see again in my life”.
While it may be a centuries-old luxury powerhouse, Louis Vuitton is a newcomer to the high jewellery industry, breaking into the business dominated by names such as Bulgari, Cartier and Chaumet only a decade ago. But without the weight of history, it has found the freedom to be unafraid, unrestricted and able to evolve to suit contemporary life, and the needs of both men and women. “Our style is bold, modern and graphic … This has been the case from our first collection, when men started to buy our high jewellery.”
“High jewellery should not just be worn on unique occasions but enjoyed as much as possible”
Since Amfitheatrof’s debut with the maison, she has developed a signature language, infusing avant-garde elements into elegant pieces, and adding a cutting-edge aesthetic to the realm of high jewellery. This is best embodied by the Rupture necklace, featuring 33 brilliant-cut zircons, 15 oval-cut opals—a total of 32.77 carats—and a 13.81-carat triangle-cut yellow sapphire, which combine for a feminine yet sporty necklace set that can be transformed into two separate pieces.
“High jewellery should not just be worn on unique occasions but enjoyed as much as possible,” says Amfitheatrof. “These are pieces for the woman of today whose life is varied, and the jewellery should reflect this.”
Another of Amfitheatrof’s bold moves was the launch of the LV Monogram cut in 2022, which, as the designer describes it, was “the most daring diamond cuts launched in decades”. Featuring 53 facets and pointed ends, this innovative cut reprises the star-shaped monogram flower created by Georges-Louis Vuitton in 1896, and opens up new ways to showcase the colour and clarity of the stones. The LV Monogram cut diamond has quickly become one of the most iconic and sought-after designs from the maison, and it is no surprise that it adorns many key pieces in the Deep Time collection.
The Rupture necklace (Photo: Adam Katz Sinding)
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Yet the progressive designs should not overshadow the savoir-faire Amfitheatrof pursues in each creation. An excellent example is the innovative interpretation of an old French technique, en tremblant, in the Myriad suite of jewellery. The technique involves attaching parts of diamond-set pieces to a trembler, a sort of spring, to create a subtle movement in the jewel when worn. The Myriad necklace and matching cuff are adorned with a row of individual bejewelled nails that can move fluidly like piano keys, imbuing the design with a whimsical quality.
Amfitheatrof has been pushing boundaries and exploring the conversation between art and jewellery since the start of her career; her early work was presented by esteemed gallerist Jay Jopling, the founder of White Cube. For the Deep Time event, she brought the collection to life through a performance choreographed by Greek experimental director Dimitris Papaioannou: it saw models adorned with magnificent jewels being gradually drawn towards dancers who sported a ring light on their heads, the jewels spotlit by the lamps, their natural dazzle enhanced by the artificial gleam. “Anyone that knows me well, knows how I seldom use this word outside of the fine arts,” the designer said on her Instagram following the event, “but I can say in all honesty last month in Athens we made art.”
Amfitheatrof is particularly known for her forward-thinking approach to sustainability. The minimal designs of her own jewellery brand Pauer use only recycled gold and silver. But it was her “green carpet” moment at the Baftas this year that really proved her intention: she collaborated with actress Cate Blanchett to repurpose a necklace made with Tahitian pearls, gold, diamonds and a 23.78-carat Nigerian tourmaline, all taken from existing pieces, and paired it with a specially altered dress that Blanchett had worn to the Oscars eight years ago.
Above Earring, bracelet and ring from the Volcano suite (Photo: Adam Katz Sinding)
Above Myriad necklace (Photo: Adam Katz Sinding)
Earring, bracelet and ring from the Volcano suite (Photo: Adam Katz Sinding)
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“This project was one of the most exciting and natural collaborations between me and Cate,” says the designer. “She is such a passionate, driving force in sustainability, and I look forward to continuing to collaborate with her. These are very important times, and we should take every opportunity possible to highlight the concern we have for the planet. Jewellery is timeless; all materials can be repurposed and reused. One hundred per cent of a piece of jewellery can be reborn into beautiful creations over, over and over again.”
As tracing a diamond’s provenance becomes increasingly essential in the industry, Louis Vuitton has also made significant efforts to strengthen its capabilities in this area. “We are very committed to being responsible regarding all of the materials we use within the maison and production techniques,” says Amfitheatrof. “We are making huge strides into traceability, having launched LV Diamonds collection diamond using the Aura Blockchain Consortium and [made] our commitment to sourcing materials as responsibly as possible.” Every LV Monogram Star cut diamond comes with an LV Diamonds certificate that tracks where the diamonds were extracted as well as places they travelled, and the workshops in which they were cut, polished and mounted. This certificate is stored by the Aura Blockchain Consortium, a platform created by the joint forces of luxury giants such as LVMH, Prada Group, Cartier, OTB Group and Mercedes-Benz in 2021.
Deep Time may be designed to take us back to the dawn of time, but it also reminds us that history informs the future. As Amfitheatrof puts it, “It is a celebration of the past, but also of the beauty of nature and the incredible fragility of life.”
