If there were an enfant terrible of the high jewelry world, the likeliest candidate would be the Parisian maison Boucheron. This is the jeweler that once made the high jewelry equivalent of a literal cloud. Yes, those airy, fluffy white masses of vaporized water we see floating all around in the sky. And no, that was not some whimsical, cartoonish or abstract take on a cloud motif either, but possibly the closest that one could ever get to owning something like a piece of the sky — forever. In its 2020 high jewelry collection named Contemplation, Boucheron directed its creative gaze towards all that which is around us. Things which are omnipresent and ubiquitous yet perennially and profoundly beautiful. Things like the sky, water, grass, even natural phenomena like the murmuration of birds, and finally, clouds.

Of course high jewelry has always drawn deeply from nature in its multifarious forms but Contemplation went far, far beyond inspiration, taking jewelry design to places never before thought possible, thereby resulting in such absolutely jaw-dropping pieces which are still talked about and referenced to this day. One such creation was a necklace called Goutte de Ciel where craftsmanship and technology interlaced like never before. First and foremost was the use of aerogel, a synthetic, porous, ultra light material that is made of 99.8 percent air with the remainder being silica gel. Aerogel is used by NASA scientists to capture stardust.

In the Goutte de Ciel necklace, however, it was very cleverly used to depict a view of the sky which Boucheron had encapsulated in a drop-shaped vial made of rock crystal as a nod to its earliest years when maison founder Frédéric Boucheron rocked the jewelry world (pun fully intended) by combining semi-precious rock crystal with precious diamonds.

Without delving too deeply into that chapter, what all jewelry enthusiasts need to know here is that by seeing the latent beauty of rock crystal, a material previously regarded as being good enough only for a supporting role, Frédéric Boucheron had opened up new possibilities for future generations of jewelers to utilize it in evermore creative ways, hence expanding the high jewelry universe and enriching its aesthetic vernacular.

But back to aerogel, obviously this was a major break from the classical tenets of high jewelry which is typically fashioned only from precious metals and important gemstones. Yet high jewelry is not just about luxury. Rightfully, it is the intersection of creativity, artistry and luxury, all of which the Goutte de Ciel necklace delivered in spades.

Another magnum opus from the Contemplation collection was the Nuage en Apesanteur necklace which not to sound hyperbolic but one would have to see in order to believe. In fact, it defies all conventions in high jewelry (already by default a space full of creativity) and should be regarded as an art piece worthy of the world’s greatest fine art museums. As baffling as it is beguiling, this unique masterpiece comprised more than 10,000 threads of extra fine titanium and over 4,000 diamonds all carefully pieced together evoking a voluminous cloud.

Completely three-dimensional and practically weightless, it perfectly embraces the neck of the wearer and gives the impression that a gust of wind might come along and blow it away at any moment. Boucheron’s creative director Claire Choisne spent two years searching for the right material, and with the help of 3D printing technology, finally managed to bring this design to life. Watch this YouTube video to revisit the Contemplation collection from 2020.

But wait, why are we talking about aerogel and NASA, titanium and 3D printing when we’re talking about high jewelry? Because when it comes to creativity in high jewelry design, Boucheron is on an entirely different universe than other legacy maisons. Says Boucheron CEO Hélène Poulit-Duquesne, “Our duty is to push the boundaries in high jewelry. To make the brand move, and by moving Boucheron, moving the market as well.”

Questioning the Precious

Working closely with Choisne on product concept and development since joining the maison in 2015, Poulit-Duquesne has steered Boucheron towards a path of modern high jewelry expressionism — a journey that has brought the duo onto some truly crazy ideas. Indeed, the aforementioned two creations from the 2020 Contemplation collection were just the tip of the iceberg. In 2022 Boucheron released a highly controversial capsule collection named Jack de Boucheron Ultime featuring its iconic jack cable motif crafted in a material called Cofalit which is an industrial by-product derived from asbestos, and hence cannot be further from precious, but only if you looked at it from a conventional standpoint. Combining Cofalit with white gold and diamonds, Choisne seemingly pays tribute once again to the moment Frédéric Boucheron combined rock crystal with diamonds, while opening a new discussion on modern jewelry design.

“We have no limit,” says Poulit-Duquesne, “we are questioning the precious. Of course, in the jewelry world, whatever we do is for eternity, and we love that. Nevertheless, we do not feel that we need systematically to use precious metals and stones and diamonds to create jewelry.” In questioning the precious, Poulit-Duquesne effectively makes high jewelry more about emotions, about dreams, about a story, than merely about value. This allows Boucheron to be free to use any material, different materials, as long as they contribute to the story and the dream. Yet there is a sensibility to this innovative take on jewelry design, as Poulit-Duquesne stresses, “At Boucheron, innovation is not for the sake of innovation. We are not a tech company, and I don’t want to be a tech company. Innovation is not the purpose. Innovation is at the service of the dream.”

It all sounds like there’s a lot going on but Boucheron was not always this mad scientist’s jewelry lab like it is today. When Poulit-Duquesne joined in 2015, it was a very different maison. It was undoubtedly one of the grand dames of Place Vendôme, with a long history and a stellar clientele providing steady demand for classics such as its iconic Question Mark necklaces, which was indeed disruptive in 1879 by virtue of being the first necklace with no clasp. But truthfully Boucheron was in a comfort zone. After carefully studying the business both inside and out, Poulit-Duquesne decided it was time to shake things up. Boucheron has always been known as a creative maison and it was her mission to bring that spirit back. “My purpose was really to awaken the sleeping beauty of Place Vendôme,” she reflects. “I think that now she’s really lively.”

And Poulit-Duquesne is absolutely right. Every new high jewelry collection since 2020’s Contemplation had left jewelry lovers all over the world in a breathless mix of surprise, elation and admiration. In 2021 there was Carte Blanche Holographique which brought a dynamic prismatic effect to rock crystal by incorporating futuristic technology from the aerospace industry, working with micro-particles of molten titanium and silver oxide to project all the colors of the rainbow by bringing in the secret ingredient, natural light. Expressing main character energy like never before, rock crystal here appears strongly architectural, sumptuously elegant and brimming with audacity.

That year, as well, Boucheron was the first to include men in its high jewelry campaign, emphasizing the message that high jewelry is not and should never be defined by gender boundaries. Following that, in 2022 came Carte Blanche Ailleurs, a truly spell-binding collection that utilizes a plethora of craft and natural materials including pebbles, leaves, rattan, ebony wood, sculpted mother-of-pearl and more to satiate the wanderlust and yen for nature we’ve all experienced during the pandemic. Whatever the story — and there is always a story — no effort was spared in crafting the pieces as Boucheron customers would not expect anything less.

Twin Dichotomy

By now, we’ve begun to notice that themes of Boucheron’s high jewelry collection always came after two important keywords: Carte Blanche. That of course refers to the maison’s philosophy of allowing complete creative freedom in high jewelry design, although that was only one half of Poulit-Duquesne’s brilliant overall vision for Boucheron. In 2020, the maison started releasing not one but two high jewelry collections, aligned to the arrival of the Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter couture weeks in Paris — so one collection is launched in January, known as Histoire de Style, and one in July, Carte Blanche.

What is the difference? Histoire de Style is a modern tribute to the classical codes of Boucheron, with an emphasis on sumptuous gemstones and timeless values. In other words, everything the archetypal high jewelry customer loves about Boucheron. Meanwhile, Carte Blanche is exactly as the name suggests: a blank canvas where creativity and storytelling are the only two requirements. No other jewelry house adopts such an approach, but for Boucheron, it was as essential as having a left brain and a right brain.

“It’s never easy to find a middle ground between commercial and creative,” says Poulit-Duquesne. “Commercial people are often reluctant to get too creative because the thinking is that the pieces are going to be difficult to sell. On the other hand, creative people need to express their ideas, and Boucheron is known as a creative maison. The marketing team needs more to push the brand position. We’ve had so many discussions about this over and over. Finally, I’ve had enough and said OK, this is what we will do.”

What came next was a stroke of marketing genius. Understanding the commercial team’s need to meet their customers’ expectations and deliver pieces which have proven to be the maison’s bestsellers, as well as the creative team’s desire to take high jewelry further in terms of storytelling, Poulit-Duquesne decided that Boucheron would do two collections every year, Histoire de Style that delves deep into the company archives, reveling in its traditions and patrimony, retold for the modern audience who loves classical designs featuring collectible gemstones, and Carte Blanche where Choisne and herself would have total freedom, pushing boundaries and expressing the creativity of the brand. But there are conditions to be met.

She continues, “I told our commercial director, ‘you have to sell all the pieces in our January collection.’ Even if we don’t have any press coverage on that collection, that’s fine by me. I won’t expect it. And then I said to the communication director, ‘your KPI will be to have maximum visibility in terms of press.’ Even if we don’t sell the pieces, that’s OK, because the objective is completely different.”

With that single decisive move, Poulit-Duquesne had not only exhibited phenomenal leadership, showing she listens and has found a solution that allows all her teams to accomplish their respective goals, but also simultaneously checked off two fundamental corporate objectives as CEO of Boucheron: to grow the business and to grow the brand. These two facets, formerly at odds with each other, now coexist in perfect harmony. Clients are happy with the creations, new clients are excited by the brand, and everyone started talking about Boucheron. “I think it was a good formula because everybody was secure again. The sales team could expect some classical pieces in January, then Claire and I could express a real story in July,” says Poulit-Duquesne.

She was absolutely right, and just two years after, she received probably the greatest affirmation of her incredible foresight. “It was in 2022, our production director came to me and said that we’ve sold all the pieces of our July collection in a week.” In addition, Histoire de Style collections such as Like A Queen and the New Maharajahs consistently drew the attention of the high jewelry cognoscenti.

For One, For All

It has been nothing short of an epical journey with Boucheron’s Carte Blanche high jewelry ever since. Each new collection triggers an entirely new set of emotions time and time again. After the soft, enigmatic dreamscapes of Contemplation came the vibrant, retro-cool hues of Holographique. After the Zen, elemental beauty of Ailleurs came the punchy, hyper-sensational More Is More collection of 2023 that looks straight out of a Lichtenstein painting. Now in 2024, the maison presents Or Bleu, a serene yet powerful take on the purity, tranquility, fluidity and vitality of our planet’s most precious resource, water. You could ponder for days and weeks but it is simply impossible to guess at what will be the story of its next collection, because as the name suggests, it is carte blanche. A blank canvas is what Poulit-Duquesne and Choisne stand in front of as they ruminate the next big idea.

“I would have loved to be an artist but I was not able to pursue that route, and went to business school instead,” shares Poulit-Duquesne. “Because of this I decided early on that I would work in the luxury world because I needed to feed my artistic brain. Luxury is an artistic industry. This is why Claire and I work so well together. She is one of those rare individuals who are as business-minded as they are creative. We have great chemistry, we never fight on ideas. I even push her to be even crazier than she could be, and she knows I’m not just pushing her but backing her always. That’s why it works so well between us.”

Incidentally, their incredible chemistry also paved the way for Boucheron to lead the industry in championing high jewelry for men. Before Contemplation in 2020, one simply does not find male representation in high jewelry campaigns; this was strictly regarded as a woman’s domain even though there have always been men who appreciate high jewelry. Indeed, for hundreds of years, jewelry was primarily worn by men, particularly royalty, as wealth and status symbols. Obviously that all went away during the Enlightenment which emphasized pragmatism over privilege, but today men are swiftly returning to the jewelry scene. Trust a modern gentleman to appreciate a diamond-set floral brooch just as ably as he reveres a carillon minute repeater tourbillon or a perfectly cut dinner jacket from any of Savile Row’s many esteemed tailors. However, incorporating men into Boucheron’s high jewelry universe wasn’t at all a calculated move. It sort of just, happened.

Poulit-Duquesne shares, “Actually it was not even a question for us. When we were preparing for Contemplation, Claire asked me if I minded seeing a part of the collection worn by men. I said ‘That’s a great idea!’” Once again, great minds thought alike, although this time, they originated from different starting points. For Choisne, it was purely an aesthetical choice, where some pieces from the collection simply resonated better with men. For Poulit-Duquesne, it was about paying rational tribute to history.

She adds, “I truly feel that it’s exceptional, and beautiful to see men wearing diamonds. That year on, we decided to always include both men and women in our collections.” And as with the use of technology in product creation, it was not about being inclusive for the sake of inclusivity. Very quickly other maisons followed suit, to embrace this burgeoning movement, turning it into a real, industry-wide norm. Says Poulit-Duquesne, “I did not even realize what kind of impact that could have on the market. All of a sudden, everyone, all the journalists were asking us to comment about high jewelry for men. Yet for us it’s not about gender, we’re really being client centric, aesthetic centric, it’s beyond gender.”

Poulit-Duquesne’s progressive vision for Boucheron has all but transformed the maison in just five short years. Boucheron is an old maison, but it is also a bold maison, and its current identity cannot be more distinctively modern with its strong embrace of progressive concepts alongside treasured heritage, and with its highly contemporary perspective on high jewelry as a luxury category for both men and women. It is also a member of the Responsible Jewelry Council and had in fact recently introduced a new and recyclable design for all its jewelry boxes, replacing the old, bulky and excessive version from before, in a bid to demonstrate tangibly how Boucheron is moving into the future. All of this came down to Poulit-Duquesne’s dynamic vision for Boucheron. Wholeheartedly, she declares, “We are obsessed with progress. I am obsessed with progress. I want to leave Boucheron saying to myself, I supported the brand, I developed the brand, and I made it move.”

Executive Production Eleonor Picciotto
Photography Audrey Bellone
Creative Direction Sandrine Amar
Model Patric Kuo / Metropolitan Model Agency
Outfits Courtesy of Gucci and Maison Gabriel Paris