Chanel Jewelry - Page 2
In 1932, Chanel was approached by DeBeers, the diamond industry veterans. The diamond business was suffering because of the Great Depression, which had commenced in 1929, and also because of the massive success of costume jewelry popularized by Chanel. They asked her to develop a collection of diamond jewelry. Chanel proved to be a great experience for DeBeers because Chanel introduced a riveting collection which was shown for two weeks during November of 1932. The result ended with DeBeers witnessing a significant rise in stocks - 20 points - on the London Stock Exchange. The diamonds were cut in odd shapes like triangles and trapezoids. The jewelry was off beat and pleasantly creative.
By the end of the Second World War and toward the start of the 1950s, Chanel’s jewelry designs included jeweled cufflinks worn on men’s style shirts, medallions, gold chains and pearl earrings. Coco Chanel died at the age of 88 in the year 1971. Her spirit was very much there, guiding her company to success after success. For twelve years, the company kept on generating reproductions of her designs. During the year 1983, Karl Lagerfeld became the director of the Chanel Corporation. During the 1980, the corporate logo CC found its way in all the Chanel items, including the jewelry.
The year 1990 saw the launch of the Egoiste brand of jewelry for men. In the year 1993 Karl Lagerfeld released the first collection of fine jewelry in the spirit and style of Chanel, in the heart of Place Vendôme in Paris.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, between October 26th and November 5th of 2005, held a public exhibition of Chanel's new collection of fine jewelry. The collection, known as “Elements Celestes” included an extraordinary presentation of more than 50 designs and accessories from the Metropolitan Museum¹s Costume Institute Collection, the Chanel Archives, and other worldwide institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
The Chanel brand of jewelry has attained cult status in the fashion industry. The jewelry has gone the lateral path and there’s been experimentation with platinum instead of white gold. The jewelry design has extended to pearls and colored stones rather than just gold and diamond. In the year 1997, the first boutique dedicated exclusively to jewelry was opened in front of the Ritz in Paris.
