«To strive for something that is a bit technically ‘uncomfortable’». Francesca Amfitheatrof and the Spirit high jewelry collection. Louis Vuitton’s most robust endeavor to date
Foreword, Carlo Mazzoni
It took three years to search for and select the rubies that made up the Spirit collection, presented in June 2022 in Marrakech. The rubies selected come from Africa and not Burma.
«This choice is a stance against the politics there. Almost as if it were an axiom, quality sapphires have to come from Ceylon, rubies from Burma. It’s about marketing – at Louis Vuitton, we don’t see it that way. Millennia ago, the geology of the planet found a macro continent, uniting Africa and Asia: the mineral roots we find in the two parts today are the same. In Burma, a direct line persists linking control and exploitation of the mines to the country’s military junta – if you buy rubies in Burma, you support the regime».
Louis Vuitton goes to the source for negotiations, while others attend fairs. Amfitheatrof stated that jewelry houses are competitive. «We buy fewer specimens, but we buy better. When Vuitton decided to work in High Jewelry, the first commitment was the formation of its own gemology center. Our gemologist, whose name I cannot say for safety, started her journey before me, ten years ago, at Vuitton. When I arrived, this department was already active».
Louis Vuitton – The Mozambican ruby
The most valuable stone in this collection is a Mozambican ruby that is slightly lighter in color than the usual parameters. «This ruby is more than ten carats emerald-cut. Rubies are always either round or oval because they are able to retain more color in the light with these shapes. The larger they get, the more they tend to have black shades on the edge – this specimen has no such shade». However, Amfitheatrof states that this collection was not built around the ruby.
«My imagination meets the ambition of stones that we have collected over the years, thanks to the economic resources we have. We are powerful in this respect. If we find stones that are worthwhile, we buy them no matter what collection we are working on, and the buying power is facilitated by the speed of decision-making. Despite the complexity of a company like Vuitton, there are not many decision-making levels, there are only a few of us».
The CEO of Louis Vuitton, Michael Burke believes that Louis Vuitton is a soft power. «He signs for all the stones we buy. Every three months we present all the stones in option to him. He looks at them and goes through the detail with me, stone by stone».
Louis Vuitton has managed to become synonymous with diamond cutting
«A diamond can be bought on Canal Street, in New York, or at Tiffany’s – you can’t know what diamond it is unless you look at it under a microscope. The fact that we have our own Vuitton cut, patented and protected, means that a Vuitton diamond is instantly recognizable. Being able to make such a complicated cut in terms of engineering takes years. When I arrived at the company, there was just the idea but it was not calibrated into a design. I gave insistence to the management and our gemologist center to allocate resources and time to a definition of our own patented cut».
With regards to her process, Amfitheatrof states: «I have a theme, a concept for the collection. I go to Michael Burke, present two or three pages to him – after six months I go back and present 150 pieces. I divide the collection into chapters. I act like a curator. The team and I work by dividing the chapters. After that, it’s up to me to make sure everyone is following a consistent identity: from the triangle, to the geometric shapes, to the placement of stones».
The value of communication and relationships with the direct sources. «There is no point in talking about NFTs and traceability technology if trust is not sought first – it remains the first effort, the first commitment». Accountability and a responsible production chain within the industry is possible, but it has a long way to go. «I do not understand how some houses can still use coral. I think of it as ivory. It should not be used. There are goals we have to achieve as an industry, all together».
Spirit Louis Vuitton High Jewelry collection – A review by of Olivier Dupon
«When I start a collection, there is always something that echoes the previous year. The first collection, Riders of the Knights, was about medieval heroines that succeed to shape their destiny with courage and the second, Stellar Times, was about a woman conquering planet Mars. Bravery was about the past, about Louis Vuitton as a young man; then you fast forward to today, and wonder what is the spirit that he has left us with?». Spirit consists of one hundred and twenty-five pieces, in five chapters.
«I consider ourselves as ‘infants’ in the high jewelry world, yet we are growing up fast. We are in the long game and every year we aim for our most robust collection to date. We are located in the heart of the high jewelry world, here at Place Vendôme», adds Francesca Amfitheatrof, artistic director for jewelry and watches of Louis Vuitton. An increasing number of creations per collection means that there is more gem-setting to be done. «The number of high jewelry Louis Vuitton specialists increases regularly».
Louis Vuitton – The Liberty necklace
A case study is the main necklace of the Liberty theme, whose checkerboard pattern recalls that of the Lune Bleue necklace (Stellar Times collection). It features a symmetrical placement of square and triangular custom-cut diamonds (the ‘V’ for Vuitton) as well as the Maison’s Monogram Flower-cut. «The stones were all cut for Lune Bleue. For Liberty, a variety of cuts were chosen according to how they would fit their positions on the checkerboard. This meant a lot of back and forth with the atelier», Amfitheatrof explains.
In the Liberty necklace, Colombian emeralds, the largest of which weighs 8.90 carats, are presided over by an 18.08-carat Royal Blue sapphire from Sri Lanka. A message is hidden within the neckpiece, whose bottom edge looks feathered. «Even though it presents as a mosaic, every element is interlinked. If we went for a straight bottom line, it would have looked heavy. By fragmenting the edge, we give it space to breathe. The top of the collar has a rounded rim, rope-style», the creative director shares.
The Grace necklace
An animalistic quality is exuded by the Grace necklace as it coils around one’s neck. It took over two thousand hours to craft. A top rope of snow-set round diamonds is tattooed with V motifs. It partially intertwines with a lower band of baguette-cut diamonds. Both point to a detachable, 65.26-carat tsavorite from East Africa that is crowned by a Monogram Flower-cut diamond.
There is a case to be made about the recurrence of signature motifs; V, Monogram flowers, arrow head, etc. Could they be restrictive – or do they create a framework for Louis Vuitton’s creativity? «We want to be recognized through signature motifs. The LV diamond cut is an example; there is also the damier pattern in diamond custom cuts».
Form Follows Function
The rope-style concept is carried over to the Fantasy theme, in which for the first time polished yellow gold is featured. It is paired with Vs in white gold. The main bangle recalls the way the cuff on a man’s shirt shows below the jacket’s sleeve. The interplay between parts can be seen as a photo and its negative. Do the words of Louis Sullivan, who coined the expression Form Follows Function, apply to Amfitheatrof’s creations?
«We can take a design to its limits, strive to do something that is a bit technically ‘uncomfortable’», Amfitheatrof notes.A reptilian quality is suggested by the individually mounted polished yellow gold scales, in the Radiance masterpiece. This collar necklace starts with a diamond-paved rope. Six rows of tiered lotus petal-shaped scales follow, down to the bottom row with its sharper edge of white diamond-paved pointy leaves. The heart of this piece is a 10.99-carat mandarin garnet.
«I grew up in a house that was almost completely Japanese. I was born in Tokyo, Japan, with a Russian-American father and an Italian mother. It informed my passion for curves and purity as seen in Korean vases, Asian furniture and antique art», Amfitheatrof explains. «I have an eagle vision. Even when I am screen sharing with my team, when they show me a piece of jewelry through the screen, I can spot in a split second whether the piece is a decimal out or not».
One of a kind gems
The Destiny necklace evokes the Chinese tradition of paper cutting. Three strands are separated, yet linked one with the other, by a crisscross of V-shaped structures from which rubies hang. At the center is a ruby from Mozambique of over 10 carats that is emerald-cut. «The presence of empty spaces in a jewel is as valuable as volumes. In the Fantasy theme, the mixture of yellow and white gold is tonal with one’s skin; there is not too much contrast and this makes sensuality a part of the graphic element».
«We have used colors throughout the four collections. I use stones as a painter would. My instinct takes me to that place. I don’t always have that possibility. For both Stellar Times and Bravery, I traveled to the Tucson Gem Fair and bought suites of colored stones», Amfitheatrof recalls. «The pandemic hit and although the mines were closed, my mind kept flowing. The gemstones included in Spirit were sourced during that time».
After four years, collectors are knocking on Louis Vuitton doors to get their hands-on rare stones. The sizable yellow sapphires from Le Soleil necklace of the Stellar Times collection had collectors queuing up to have the neckpiece replicated for them. «Gems are one of a kind. To come across another such set, they will have to wait for a long time».
The prerogative for quality stones
«We don’t recut the gemstones. Our interest in colored gemstones means that we have a prerogative for quality stones. We cut them to emphasize their potential and this is done before we even start designing. The Destiny 10-carat emerald-cut ruby is a stone that came to me already as an emerald cut, which is rare for this size, all the more with such refractory light attributes», Amfitheatrof explains. Dark sapphires would not be a good fit for her vision. «Stones that are not happy, too moody, or have a strange aura. Mundane, common and boring stones are not for us». The more than 10-carat ruby from Mozambique. The 10.99-carat mandarin garnet.
The 18.08-carat royal blue sapphire from Sri Lanka. The 8.90-carat Colombian emerald. The 8.73-carat D Flawless diamond and the East African tsavorite of 65.26 carats. All are among the gems from Spirit that appeal to collectors. How are the gemstones that will be set in Amfitheatrof’s designs identified from the ones that will be left for collectors? A selection of the latter were displayed in a room on the upper floors of the Royal Mansoor, Marrakech, at the same time as Spirit was unveiled at the end of June.
Louis Vuitton diamonds: Responsible Jewelry Council-certified and Kimberley Process-certified
One hundred percent of the diamonds used in Louis Vuitton’s watchmaking and jewelry collections are Responsible Jewelry Council-certified and Kimberley Process-certified, which guarantees a ‘zero conflict’ provenance. The same goes for the gold.
«This certification guarantees that all the steps of the extraction, transformation, and marketing processes respect sustainable development standards. As of 2020, one hundred percent of the gold used in our highest volume product category, leather goods, has also been certified».
It was in 2012 that Louis Vuitton obtained its RJC certification confirming that «the everyday application of the moral, social, societal and environmental principles championed by the Responsible Jewelry Council, throughout the lifespan of its watches and jewelry products, from the extraction of the precious stones and metals to their distribution, through their transformation by our craftsmen».
‘LV Diamonds’ certificate
Louis Vuitton has founded the ‘LV Diamonds’ certificate, in an effort to commit to more transparency in sourcing their gemstones. «Provided with each LV Diamonds creation set with a central stone, this file lists each diamond’s weight, color, purity and cut quality. It tracks its journey, from the country where the diamond was extracted until its arrival in its case, through the workshops where it was cut, polished and mounted. Each chapter in the story of an LV Diamonds creation is written down and documented».
In order to back up the certificate’s security, Louis Vuitton uses the blockchain technology, operated by Aura Blockchain Consortium. «This enables the recording and issuing of forgery-proof data thanks to decentralized storage. Besides, this solves many issues relating to responsible sourcing, as well as the diamond’s durability since the platform provides direct access to the stone’s history, and its life cycle from creation to distribution».
Francesca Amfitheatrof
After a long and highly esteemed career in jewelry, Francesca Amfitheatrof was appointed Artistic Director for Louis Vuitton’s jewelry and watches in 2018. Over the years, she has created Haute Joaillerie collections for the French fashion house. Among the many collections launched by the designer are LV Volt, BBlossom, Empreinte and Pure V.
Pablo Freda for Louis Vuitton. Lampoon, The Muscles Issue
For Lampoon – the Muscles issue, photographer Paolo Freda created a series of shots highlighting Louis Vuitton’s high jewelry collection. The photographs appeared in issue 26 of the magazine and were accompanied by this interview with Francesca Amfitheatrof, with a foreword by Lampoon Editor-in-Chief Carlo Mazzoni.
Born in Paris, Pablo Freda spent quite some time of his childhood in Argentina which left some influences on his works and vision before exporting that back to Paris where he is currently based.
Photography Pablo Freda and styling Riccardo Linarello
Production: Michaël Lacomblez @Louis2
Hair: Melisande Page
Makeup: Akari Sugino
Photography assistants: Kevin Aldrich, Philippe Milliat,
Talent: Lise S @Makers Metropolitan
Olivier Dupon
