rime. Each piece is de Castellane’s inter-
pretation of the world around her, which
has changed radically since the beginning
of her career at Chanel in 1984. “When
I arrived,” she says, “all of the jewelry
houses were not how I imagined.” The
lack of women jewelry designers in
1980s Paris perplexed and motivated de
Castellane. She had grown up studying
the work of great early- to mid-century
designers, such as Suzanne Belperron
and Jeanne Toussaint, women who “cre-
ated jewelry for women,” she explains.
“I don’t know what happened in the ’60s
and ’70s, but after that it was really a
man’s world. And it was boring.”
Now beloved for her anything-but-
boring creations, the French designer
describes her process in almost primitive
terms: Visions of future pieces “flash” in
her head; details must be “caught;” she’s
on a constant quest for “good stones.” She
enjoys working as if she were “five years
old, playing, but in a very conscientious
way.” This effervescence is on full display
in her latest and largest collection, Gem
Dior (a phonetic riff on “J’aime Dior”):
99 pieces forged from a veritable treasure
chest of emeralds, sapphires, diamonds,
rubies, and semiprecious stones, includ-
ing tanzanites and Paraíba tourmalines.
In June, the collection was unveiled at
a sumptuous presentation in Venice;
within a day, many of the one-of-a-kind
rings, earrings, necklaces, and watch-
es had been sold or reserved, at prices
reaching into the millions.
But the personal value of her collec-
tion is, she says, truly sentimental: “My
father is my inspiration. It’s crazy, but I just
realized this. He’s a real ’70s man, wear-
ing rings and pennants on metal chains,
and he has this Latin exuberance. He
wears jewelry in this really free way, and
I put this in the jewelry without knowing it
consciously.” Part paternal panache, part
elegant exuberance, the new collection is
emblematic of de Castellane’s contribu-
tions to the rarified world of high jewelry:
modern in design, timeless in appeal.
—MARY ALICE MILLER5She enjoys working as if she
were “five years old, playing,
but in a conscientious way.”
VANITY FAIR 83