Scent-sational: 4 jewellery brands that paid homage to perfume – from Chanel’s tribute to the legendary N°5, to riffs on fine fragrances from Tiffany & Co., Victoria Beckham and Jacquie Aiche
When the world’s most prestigious jewellers turn their attention to the rarefied world of high perfumery, it often inspires dazzling collections of jewellery. Legendary fragrances have long motivated jewellery designers to pay homage with rare gemstones and precious metals.
1. Chanel
Chanel, which first debuted high jewellery in 1932 with the release of Bijoux de Diamants, is the most famous name in luxury to dedicate a collection to an iconic fragrance. The N°5 Collection – unveiled to mark 100 years of Chanel N°5 in 2021 – reimagines the perfume’s floral notes, its sillage (the trail of scent left in the air when someone leaves the room), the stopper in its bottle and even the number five itself in 123 graphic jewellery pieces studded with diamonds or set with onyx, pearls, yellow sapphires and rock crystal. A fine jewellery line, titled N°5, followed soon after with pendants, rings, necklaces and earrings sculpted with Gabrielle Chanel’s lucky number – five, of course – and a stylised drop of perfume in white diamonds, and white or beige gold.
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2. Jacquie Aiche
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When jewellers aren’t replicating historic scents, they’re bringing those scents’ signature vessels to life. Inspired by healing and restoration, the Los Angeles-based Jacquie Aiche has combined 14k yellow gold with diamond settings to highlight her colourful bottle-inspired pendants. Designed to house the wearer’s favourite aromatherapy oil, the handcrafted pieces are available in a variety of spiritual stones – from lapis lazuli, said to boost creativity, to turquoise with supposed healing properties.
3. Tiffany & Co.
From hard stones to high-shine metals: one of the first designs Elsa Peretti created for Tiffany & Co. was a rounded bottle pendant in shiny gold and sterling silver. Embracing a less-is-more mantra, Peretti, who arrived at the New York jeweller in 1974, was inspired by the young girls in Portofino in the 1960s who carried gardenias. She created a minimal, architectural bottle that could hold a flower, some with removable stoppers of hand-carved turquoise, making these designs the ideal carrier for a beloved scent.
4. Victoria Beckham
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More recently, the celebrated fashion designer and former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham introduced her own take on a perfume bottle pendant with a brand-new necklace designed to hold her signature fragrances Portofino ’97, Suite 302 and San Isidro Drive. Crafted in Italy from gold brushed brass and at an accessible price point, the piece is finished with its own bespoke dropper to ensure no perfume is spilled while it is transferred to the necklace.
- Chanel N°5 is celebrated with 123 pieces that reimagine the perfume, its sillage, the stopper in its bottle and even the digit “5” itself – Coco Chanel’s lucky number after all
- At Tiffany & Co., Elsa Peretti was inspired by flower vases in Portofino – a place which also moved Victoria Beckham whose pendant can hold her Portofino ’97, plus her other fragrances Suite 302 or San Isidro Drive