TOWNANDCOUNTRYMAG.COM | SEPTEMBER 2019 145
not expecting to rewrite history, but we can bend the curve a little.”
A collection of sapphire and diamond jewelry inspired by arms
and armor and medieval legends might just achieve that, though Rid-
ers of the Knights is also, to a considerable degree, an homage to the
brand’s heritage. “Vuitton women have always followed their sense
of adventure; they are curious and powerful. It’s a strong brand. And
Vuitton began with trunks, pieces that are meant to be protective,
and deliberately built to hand down from generation to generation.”
Visions and inspiration and craftsmanship and heritage eventu-
ally needed to land on a sketch pad. Amfitheatrof says it’s the neck-
laces that come first. “They are always the starting point. They take
a lot of care, they need the bigger stones, they are complex things.
They are like the main piece in your house.” I saw the beginnings
of one during a visit to Vuitton’s jewelry atelier above the house’s
Place Vendôme flagship earlier this year, and I could detect, even in
the early phases, Amfitheatrof ’s vision being realized. It was a neck-
lace of latticed white gold, diamonds, and sapphires anchored by
an enormous center sapphire. Its construction creates a strict form
while still following the curve of the neck, allowing movement. I
immediately thought how perfectly it would have fit over Joan of
Arc’s breastplate.
I have written about Amfitheatrof ’s work often, and I know that the
narratives behind her pieces are matched in rigor by the construction
that allows her stories to take shape. The necklace is the keystone of a
10-piece collection within Riders of the Knights called Le Royaume.
“The necklace is made of different layers,” she explains. “It has a collar of
diamonds that drops into latticework that is almost like a drawbridge.”Medieval reference, check. “But there has to be movement,” she says.
“There are some open gaps, it has latticework on the grip. It has to
fit perfectly. The weight is divided evenly around the neck.”
All this engineering supports a 19.31-carat unheated Madagascar
sapphire. (About 95 percent of rubies and sapphires are treated with
heat to burn out impurities and improve color. To find one that has
not been heated is a rare thing.) The stones in Vuitton’s High Jew-
elry pieces are procured by an expert team, and the brand has made
an impressive commitment to locating extraordinary stones. Work-
ing with this level of material is one of the privileges of designing
jewelry for the house, according to Amfitheatrof. “To have the abil-
ity to source new things and have the freedom to try new things is
extraordinary,” she says.
The sapphire drew Amfitheatrof in as a storyteller and as a designer.
“It’s that beautiful royal blue, a color that has historically been asso-
ciated with women, with the Madonna. And it’s a royal color. Blueb-
lood, you know...” Some jewelers begin with the stone (“The stone
knows the form,” Ezra Pound once wrote). Amfitheatrof says she tends
to start with the concept but that this particular sapphire quickly
made it into the design. “The stone has depth and softness,” she says.
“It’s not moody. It’s a happy blue.”
Riders of the Knights does have some more delicate pieces, but by
design it is a strong collection. But Amfitheatrof admits that the sap-
phire and diamond necklace is the showstopper. The ancient armor
of its inspiration is evident in its construction, but, she says, “it has
a modernity, because the grid is so perfectly aligned. And there is a
lightness to it. It’s very seductive.”
It is, she says, a perfect embodiment of a woman’s strength. “It’s
strong, but it’s not a wall. The openings let things through.” “Joan of Arc was on
my mood board. There is an
intuition that has made women
conquer aga i n st a ll odds.
These pieces celebrate heroines.”
LOUIS VUITTON RIDERS OF THE KNIGHTS SAPPHIRE AND DIAMOND EARRINGS
(PRICE ON REQUEST), LOUISVUITTON.COMThis year’s High
Jewelry collection
is Francesca
Amfitheatrof’s
first as artistic
director of Louis
Vuitton watches
and jewelry.