Dior Print: High Jewellery for the Non-Conformist

July 5, 2022

By Katerina Perez

8 min read

Dior Joaillerie has produced perhaps its most Dior-ish high jewellery collection to date, offering up Victoire de Castellane’s signature style in a way that’s almost immediately recognisable. Although inspired by the concept of “drawing prints on jewellery,” the collection isn’t easily definable. There are graphic and abstract shapes, bows, flowers, halos, waves… it’s both what we’d expect from the maison and completely unexpected in its aesthetic diversity. Perhaps you need to see it for yourself…

To trace the roots of the Dior Print High Jewellery collection, we really need to revisit some of Victoire de Castellane’s milestones for the brand. There was Dior Dior Dior in 2018, inspired by the lace used by Monsieur Dior in his original Haute Couture collections; the Tie & Dior collection of 2020 that looked at textile dying effects; and the most recent Galons Dior collection of January 2022, which considered the trimmings, swags and braids used by the maison’s founder as couture adornments. The theme is taking elements of couture fashion and injecting them into jewellery that uses colour graphically and fantastically in equal measure. A recent example of this is the 2020 Dior et Moi collection with opals, multi-coloured gems, emeralds and turquoises.

A show to celebrate the launch of the Dior Print High Jewellery collection featured models posed as Greek statues

A show to celebrate the launch of the Dior Print High Jewellery collection featured models posed as Greek statues

 Models wear pieces from the new Dior Print High Jewellery collection

Models wear pieces from the new Dior Print High Jewellery collection

 A model wears a headpiece and earrings from the new Dior Print High Jewellery collection

A model wears a headpiece and earrings from the new Dior Print High Jewellery collection

 Layered diamond and coloured gemstone necklaces from the new Dior Print High Jewellery collection

Layered diamond and coloured gemstone necklaces from the new Dior Print High Jewellery collection

Dior Print continues along these lines by imagining a technique in which fabric prints can be supplanted onto high jewels. A press release explains: “Liberty prints, checks, stripes, and tie-dye are among the ultra-precious motifs in the Dior Print high jewellery collection, comprising 137 joyful, virtuoso pieces that seem to swirl like an haute couture gown.” It’s the diversity of these print inspirations that gives the collection its frenetic feel as we jump from ribbons of blue, green and colourless gems to floral ear cuffs, white diamond cocktail rings and elegant diamond-set bows (another signature of the maison).

Floral inspired necklace and earrings from the new Dior Print High Jewellery collection

Floral inspired necklace and earrings from the new Dior Print High Jewellery collection

The whimsical concept – transposing the motif of a two-dimensional fabric onto three-dimensional jewellery – gave rise to 35 printed parures adorned with checks and stripes, tie-dye colour gradations, geometric motifs and Liberty prints that mesmerise while their extreme fluidity caresses the skin like a silky breeze.

Dior Print High Jewellery diamond necklace inspired by a "crazy tossing of stones"

Dior Print High Jewellery diamond necklace inspired by a "crazy tossing of stones"

Dior Print High Jewellery necklace with a pear-shaped emerald, further emeralds and diamonds

Dior Print High Jewellery necklace with a pear-shaped emerald, further emeralds and diamonds

Dior Print High Jewellery collection diamond brooch

Dior Print High Jewellery collection diamond brooch

Dior Print High Jewellery collection diamond earrings

Dior Print High Jewellery collection diamond earrings

Dior Print High Jewellery collection necklace with emerald and round brilliany-cut diamonds

Dior Print High Jewellery collection necklace with emerald and round brilliany-cut diamonds

Dior Print High Jewellery collection ring with a large emerald-cut diamond and further fancy-cut diamonds

Dior Print High Jewellery collection ring with a large emerald-cut diamond and further fancy-cut diamonds

Further diamond-set creations from the Dior Print High Jewellery collection

Further diamond-set creations from the Dior Print High Jewellery collection

Dior Print High Jewellery collection ribbon necklace with a pear-shaped Paraiba tourmaline

Dior Print High Jewellery collection ribbon necklace with a pear-shaped Paraiba tourmaline

Dior Print High Jewellery collection brooch with pink, blue, purple and white gemstones in a rose shape

Dior Print High Jewellery collection brooch with pink, blue, purple and white gemstones in a rose shape

Dior Print High Jewellery collection brooch with a tonal mix of blue gemstones

Dior Print High Jewellery collection brooch with a tonal mix of blue gemstones

Dior Print High Jewellery collection ring with an oval-shaped diamond centre

Dior Print High Jewellery collection ring with an oval-shaped diamond centre

Check pattern-inspired Dior Print High Jewellery creation with an oval-shaped blue sapphire centre

Check pattern-inspired Dior Print High Jewellery creation with an oval-shaped blue sapphire centre

Within the collection, we find rings, ear cuffs, brooches, chokers, plastrons and bracelets, each one “conceived like fabric in miniature”. When worn, pieces are neither too demure nor too large, managing to find a middle ground that’s flamboyant, voluminous and youthful. To create the sense of fabric fluttering in the breeze, we see ‘hard’ gemstones placed expertly to mimic flowing materials – shape, size and scale have all been considered to trick the eye. Elsewhere, though, the Vendome ring, necklace and bracelet are graphic and conceptual, like Lego bricks have been dropped and sprinkled with diamonds upon landing. According to Dior, we are looking at a “crazy tossing of stones,” including some exceptional specimens like an 11.58 carat D flawless pear-shaped diamond, a 14.66 carat Burmese sapphire, and a 10.27 carat ruby from Mozambique.

Models wear Dior High Jewellery at a party to celebrate the launch of the Dior Print High Jewellery collection

Models wear Dior High Jewellery at a party to celebrate the launch of the Dior Print High Jewellery collection

The ‘masterpiece’ of the collection is a mash-up of floral prints and stripes. The necklace features interlaced ribbons of gold in three colours with articulated links that borrow from watchmaking techniques. Other necklaces are set with an 11.92 carat Colombian emerald, a large pear-shaped Paraiba tourmaline and a striking opal cabochon. Elsewhere in the Dior Print universe, we can discover a fresh take on check motifs using grids of blue sapphires punctuated with round brilliant-cut diamonds and finished with large oval-shaped sapphire centre stones. The classically masculine check is reworked in notable creations, like a ribbon necklace adorned with a 12.07-carat Madagascar sapphire, a double ring set with a nearly six-carat Ceylon sapphire, or drop earrings whose edges appear sliced clean, as if snipped with scissors.

Dior Print High Jewellery necklace in pink and yellow gold with diamonds, emeralds, rubies, blue, yellow and pink sapphires, Paraiba-type tourmalines, tsavorites garnets, spessartites, rhodolite garnets and red spinels

Dior Print High Jewellery necklace in pink and yellow gold with diamonds, emeralds, rubies, blue, yellow and pink sapphires, Paraiba-type tourmalines, tsavorites garnets, spessartites, rhodolite garnets and red spinels

 Dior Print High Jewellery bracelet set with an opal cabochon and vibrant coloured gemstones

Dior Print High Jewellery bracelet set with an opal cabochon and vibrant coloured gemstones

 Dior Print High Jewellery ring with blue and green gemstones and colourless diamonds

Dior Print High Jewellery ring with blue and green gemstones and colourless diamonds

 Dior Print High Jewellery earrings with blue and green gemstones and colourless diamonds

Dior Print High Jewellery earrings with blue and green gemstones and colourless diamonds

 Dior Print High Jewellery ring with an oval-shaped tanzanite and multi-coloured gemstones

Dior Print High Jewellery ring with an oval-shaped tanzanite and multi-coloured gemstones

 Dior Print High Jewellery floral-inspired ring with coloured gemstones and diamonds in gold

Dior Print High Jewellery floral-inspired ring with coloured gemstones and diamonds in gold

 Dior Print High Jewellery collection piece with a tonal mix of deep blue and lighter blue sapphires

Dior Print High Jewellery collection piece with a tonal mix of deep blue and lighter blue sapphires

 Dior Print High Jewellery earrings inspired by flowing floral fabric patterns

Dior Print High Jewellery earrings inspired by flowing floral fabric patterns

 Dior Print High Jewellery creation with a check pattern effect using white diamonds and blue sapphires

Dior Print High Jewellery creation with a check pattern effect using white diamonds and blue sapphires

 Dior Print High Jewellery creation with shades of blue and green gemstones alongside diamonds

Dior Print High Jewellery creation with shades of blue and green gemstones alongside diamonds

And let’s not forget stripes, which are mingled with flowers in pink, violet and blue sapphires, white diamonds, and mauve amethysts on rings, necklaces, earrings and a secret watch. Significant gems abound, including an 8.02 carat lilac sapphire from Madagascar, as well as rubies, spinels and yellow diamonds that embellish white gold braiding.  Among the jewels inspired by Liberty prints, we find two ribbon necklaces with a 10.05-carat cushion-cut D flawless white diamond and a 3.04-carat fancy vivid yellow diamond respectively.

Victoire de Castellane's seat at a special dinner to celebrate the launch of the Dior Print High Jewellery collection

Victoire de Castellane's seat at a special dinner to celebrate the launch of the Dior Print High Jewellery collection

To celebrate the launch of the collection, Dior hosted a Dior Print catwalk event on June 4, 2022, at the Grand Hotel Timeo in Taormina, Italy. Pieces were combined with haute couture fashion by Maria Grazia Chiuri and an especially created make-up look by artist Peter Philips. Models were adorned and posed like living paintings of Grecian goddesses, surrounded by stone pedestals to pay tribute to the postures of Greek statues.

A model wears opal cabochon and multi-coloured gemstone jewellery pieces from the Dior Print High Jewellery collection

A model wears opal cabochon and multi-coloured gemstone jewellery pieces from the Dior Print High Jewellery collection

 A model wears pieces from the Dior Print High Jewellery collection

A model wears pieces from the Dior Print High Jewellery collection

 Models walk the catwalk to celebrate the launch of the Dior Print High Jewellery collection

Models walk the catwalk to celebrate the launch of the Dior Print High Jewellery collection

 Sapphire jewellery pieces from the Dior Print High Jewellery collection

Sapphire jewellery pieces from the Dior Print High Jewellery collection

 A model wears a striking necklace from the Dior Print High Jewellery collection with diamonds, emeralds, rubies, blue, yellow and pink sapphires, Paraiba-type tourmalines and tsavorites garnets, among other gems

A model wears a striking necklace from the Dior Print High Jewellery collection with diamonds, emeralds, rubies, blue, yellow and pink sapphires, Paraiba-type tourmalines and tsavorites garnets, among other gems

 Multi-coloured gemstone jewellery pieces from the new Dior Print High Jewellery collection

Multi-coloured gemstone jewellery pieces from the new Dior Print High Jewellery collection

 Models are photographed wearing Dior Print High Jewellery at a special launch event, hosted in Italy

Models are photographed wearing Dior Print High Jewellery at a special launch event, hosted in Italy

How does this relate to printed fabrics and graphic “crazy tossing of stones”? Who knows, but it speaks to the non-conformist spirit I mentioned earlier. High Jewellery is purposeful but it’s also about finery, enjoyment, elegance and storytelling… why shouldn’t Dior have its cake and eat it too?

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