Founded in 1854 and famed for its trunks and other over-the-top travel luggage, the French luxury fashion house has come a long way! Louis Vuitton’s iconic LV monogram appears on most of its products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes, watches, accessories, sunglasses, books and jewelry too.
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To know more about the brand’s journey from luggage-making to fine jewelry making, The Jewellery Editor has paid a visit to the Place Vendôme in Paris. Editor Maria Doulton discovers how Louis Vuitton links its history to its jewels.
It is evident that Louis Vuitton’s style relates directly to its heritage. However it is noted that unlike other jewelers on Place Vendôme, Vuitton’s history is not related to jewelry but rather to its original business of making steamer trunks for intrepid Victorian travelers.
The spirit of trunk-making manifests on the jewels in form of one of the most recognizable Vuitton icons, the Monogram flower and star pattern which debuted in 1896 on canvas. Louis Vuitton’s expertise has given rise to a new diamond which is cut from these two shapes.
Louis Vuitton gemmologist are also very particular about picking the rarest, most beautiful and most unusual precious stones from across the globe for its jewelry collections.
The Dentelle de Monogram necklace clearly mimics the clusters of stars and flowers. The diamonds are ingeniously arranged to reflect a monochromatic version of the famous LV logo.
While Louis Vuitton Escale á Paris ring highlights a green grossular garnet at its center, the white gold ring from the Chain Attraction collection dazzles with a mandarin garnet, opals and diamonds.
At Louis Vuitton’s high jewelry workshop in Paris, each jewel is lovingly coaxed to life by a team of skilled craftsmen using traditional skills that define these jewels as haute joaillerie creations.
Lastly Maria encapsulates well by stating, “if you look at a Louis Vuitton jewel, you will see that nothing else on earth looks like a Vuitton jewel, and now you know why.”
