THE « TWEED COUTURE » NECKLACE BECOMES PART OF CHANEL’S JEWELRY HERITAGE.

When Gabrielle Chanel uses tweed, it is to offer its comfort to an elegant and sporty woman, resolutely modern. When Patrice Leguéreau, Director of CHANEL’s Jewelry Creation Studio, was inspired by this in 2020, it was to create the first Haute Joaillerie collection dedicated to Tweed, including a masterpiece: the « Tweed Couture » necklace. Reissued today, this technical and aesthetic feat is now part of the House’s jewelry heritage. And definitely registers tweed as one of the major inspirations of CHANEL’s Jewelry Creation Studio.

Tame the tweed. Metamorphosing its softness, reinterpreting its weave whose irregularity accentuates its softness, and taming its suppleness by summoning gold, pearls and precious stones. This dream is fulfilled in the « Tweed Couture » necklace. Blossoming in a multitude of radiating lines of different lengths, it evokes a dense yet incredibly light weave thanks to innovative processes.

Starting with the swaddling of rose gold or platinum wires which, by creating tiny hinges, rings or articulations, allow the necklace to be structured with flexibility. They are combined with equally light settings where each stone seems to be free of claws or grains to reveal itself in the light.

Lines of infinitely poetic pink sapphires, intense and crystalline red spinels, velvety pearls and brilliantly clear diamonds draw the weft and warp threads of the tweed to recreate its mossy thickness. While a line of pearls, punctuated in its center by a 10.20 carat DIF Type IIa cushion-cut diamond, delicately highlights the birth of the neck. Finally, the reverse side of each element has been polished so that wearing the collar is as light and comfortable as wearing tweed.

The « Tweed Couture » necklace perfectly matches the curve of the neck and recreates the weave of tweed, making flexibility a creative principle sublimated by the mastery and expertise of the CHANEL Fine Jewelry Workshop. Its freedom and inventiveness celebrate the formidable audacity of Mademoiselle and make it part of CHANEL’s jewellery heritage.

« The « Tweed Couture » necklace, which brings together most of the technical challenges we faced in 2020, was the most ambitious piece in this Haute Joaillerie collection. For example, over 980 joints were assembled to create the necklace’s exceptional flexibility. That’s why today, the House is proud to donate this exceptional piece to Heritage as a precious testament to our creativity and craftsmanship. »

– Patrice Leguéreau, Director of the CHANEL Jewelry Design Studio

TWEED ACCORDING TO CHANEL

In the 1920s, Gabrielle Chanel had a love affair with the Duke of Westminster and discovered English aristocratic life.
The Duke has an undeniable influence on the creations of Mademoiselle, which borrows his tweed jackets to reinterpret them in its collections.

A solid, slightly fluffy woolen fabric, tweed is named after a river in southern Scotland. Tweed has been part of CHANEL’s stylistic vocabulary since the 1920s, but it entered the House’s jewelry universe in 2020 with a first collection of 45 pieces of Haute Joaillerie.

Tweed Couture » necklace

Made of platinum, pink gold, pink sapphires, spinels, cultured pearls and diamonds, including a 10.20 carat cushion cut diamond, the « Tweed Couture » necklace is very representative of the « TWEED DE CHANEL » theme. Different sizes of stones are arranged to create a precious weave of Tweed and the gold structure is fully swaddled to give each piece the softness of fabric. The « Tweed Couture » necklace was the most expensive piece in the 2020 collection and was reproduced for the occasion to join the CHANEL Haute Joaillerie heritage pieces, such as the « 55.55 » necklace from the « Collection N°5 ».