Infused with the power of mythological characters, Louis Vuitton encapsulates the essence of its spirit with its fourth high jewellery collection titled “Spirit”. Designed by Francesca Amfitheatrof, the Maison’s Artistic Director for Watches and Jewellery, the collection brings together concepts held dear by the brand, and is the perfect fit for the contemporary Louis Vuitton woman.

The collection stands true to Louis Vuitton’s core ethos: its pioneering spirit, capacity for innovation and constant desire to explore new identities. With ideas of destiny and soaring to new heights, as well as liberty, strength and the notion of infinity, Amfitheatrof has taken the mythology around fantastical creatures and transpose it to the 21st century, creating allegorical high jewellery pieces infused with her highly contemporary vision of the symbols showcased in the collection.

“Like a phoenix rising from the ashes to take flight, or a dragon breathing protective fire, the Louis Vuitton woman exudes amazing strength, energy and optimism. It is that very femininity — so emancipating and emblematic of the Maison — that I wanted to embody in Spirit.”

– Francesca Amfitheatrof

The stunning collection features five key values across 125 spectacular pieces: Radiance, Liberty, Destiny, Fantasy and Grace. It comprises more pieces than any high jewellery collection in the history of Louis Vuitton, making it the Maison’s largest ever. It requires over 40,000 hours of work in its Parisian ateliers and took the artisan jewellers three years to source for the perfect gems; with sapphires from Sri Lanka, emeralds from Colombia and rubies from Mozambique.

To express all the vitality that drives the sense of adventure in the collection, triangle shapes and Vuitton’s iconic V shape is used to create unique designs and a high-impact visual language.

“It reads as the Vuitton V and resembles an arrow, which was the earliest graphic symbol ever created by humans – pointing the direction, it constantly urges us forward.” 

– Francesca Amfitheatrof

This provides Spirit with a graphic purity whose aesthetic force runs through every design, linking them like a precious, live energy.

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Grace

Two phoenix wings unfold around the neck of a stunning 65.26-carat tsavorite from East Africa. It acts as a metaphor for the Louis Vuitton woman’s capacity for renewal, soaring off to discover new lands and reach new heights. The design is formed of a double V — one V made of custom-cut baguette diamonds while the other is a twisted metal torque of round diamonds that curve around the top of the neck.

Fantasy

In perpetual movement, the wanderlust so prized by the Maison manifests in a virtuoso interlacing of yellow-gold chevron motifs with diamond-paved triangles and Vs in white gold. Spotlighting a 25.6-carat monogram flower-cut diamond, the two-tone contrast of textures enhances the flawless geometry of the piece and act as a callback to the arrowheads that Louis Vuitton showcases in its high jewellery collections.

Liberty

Louis Vuitton’s creative boldness breaks free of high jewellery’s conventional design codes through the regal star necklace. The piece acts as a re-interpretation of its damier pattern in a mosaic composition of square and triangle custom-cut diamonds, highlighting the outstanding selection of emeralds — the largest of which weighs 8.90 carats — and a 2.60-carat D VVS1 diamond in the Maison’s signature Monogram Flower Cut.

Radiance

The necklaces in the collection are intended to act as protection for a woman as she makes her way through life, like a second skin of gold and platinum that simultaneously speaks of the untamed, mysterious nature dormant inside each of us. Every scale that makes up this piece is individually mounted, so that its masterfully concave checkerboard pattern sits perfectly on the skin.

Destiny

This strikingly architectural jewellery set magnifies the power of Louis Vuitton’s legacy, revealing the fullness of its spirit through a repeating pattern of triangular shapes and the ever-present letter V. The whole piece is brought to life by a number of fiery rubies from Mozambique, its characteristic red bringing the piece together. As it’s detachable, the ruby can also be worn on the specially designed accompanying solitaire ring, which comes with a detachable diamond that also hangs from the necklace.

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