High jewellery inspired by the beauty of the lotus flower
Since ancient times, the lotus flower has been a symbol of purity, spirituality, and serenity — a being of water, air, and sun that spends its infancy beneath the water line and its maturity above it. Lotus by De Beers is the new high jewellery collection recently unveiled by the renowned diamond jeweller, inspired by the beauty and life journey of this remarkable flower.
The making of Lotus by De Beers Collection
There are five suites of jewellery in the collection, each evoking a stage in the flower’s metamorphosis — Awakening, Blooming, Flourishing, Radiating, and Soothing Lotus. Drawing upon its vast showcase of meticulously handpicked diamonds and over 125 years of expertise, the designs juxtapose princess, pear, baguette, marquise, oval, and round brilliant diamonds with rough diamonds in the signature style that De Beers is renowned for. This artful use of polished and rough gems gives rise to amazing recreations of the hues of water, or the image of hundreds of lily pads floating on the surface of a pond.
De Beers Awakening Lotus Necklace
Up-close of De Beers Awakening Lotus Necklace
De Beers Awakening Lotus Bracelet
De Beers Awakening Lotus Earrings
The Awakening Lotus imagines a beginning for the lotus flower in which the petals emerge above the water line, shedding the last droplet from its surface and leaving a subtle ripple in its wake. This story is told in diamonds, which themselves undergo transformation beneath the surface of the earth. The suite consists of a ring, earrings, bracelet, and a necklace in which the eye is led along a liquid, rippling thread of round and marquise-cut diamonds culminating in a magnificent 18.79ct rough bluish-green macle.
De Beers Blooming Lotus Brooch
De Beers Blooming Lotus Necklace
De Beers Blooming Lotus Earrings
De Beers Blooming Lotus Ring
Petals unfurling and fanning out from a bud, meeting the sun for the very first time is the premise for the second suite, Blooming Lotus. Comprising a ring, earrings, and necklace, the suite centres on a three-dimensional diamond flower motif. The necklace features three superbly rendered pear-shaped diamond petals, supported by a pear-, a marquise-, and baguette-cut diamond silhouette echoing that of a lotus flower. This central piece can be detached and worn as a brooch.
De Beers Flourishing Lotus Necklace
Up-close of De Beers Flourishing Lotus Necklace
De Beers Flourishing Lotus Bangle
De Beers Flourishing Lotus Ring
De Beers Flourishing Lotus Earring
Flourishing Lotus depicts the bloom basking in the intensity of the midday sun. This suite highlights shape and symmetry, most seductively in the earrings with their diamond design featuring a 3.13ct round brilliant solitaire surrounded by De Beers’ signature micropavé. The round medallion is another standout, its beautiful diamond sunburst framed within a circle attached to a delicate sautoir chain of pear, princess and round brilliant diamonds. This medallion, too, can be worn alone as a brooch. Also part of the suite is a ring and a bracelet.
The Radiating Lotus explores the mythology of the flower, including the Ancient Egyptian belief that each bloom is a talisman of rebirth and regeneration. This mysterious power is celebrated with incantatory symbolism featuring petal-shaped marquise diamonds, rows of fan-like round brilliant diamond peaks, and kite-shaped cascades of princess-cut and round brilliant-cut diamonds. In the necklace, earrings and bracelet that make up this exquisite suite, the technical mastery of the De Beers craftsmen is on full display, especially in the exceptional way the settings allow for maximum light reflection.
De Beers Soothing Lotus Ring
De Beers Soothing Lotus Necklace
De Beers Soothing Lotus Earring
The setting for the final suite, Soothing Lotus, is the lily pond at dusk. Serenity and subtle gradations of colour reign as the sun loses its intense energy. Rough and polished diamonds are arranged in an artful mosaic-like collage, harmoniously balancing colour, shape and texture. In each piece, the viewer can imagine a pond draped with lotus flowers and lily pads in the fading light, bringing to a close the lotus flower’s journey on an elegiac note.
