(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- Since its founding in 1858, Boucheron has operated in the lofty realm of the world’s most prestigious jewelers, but the Parisian house hasn’t achieved the mass commercial presence in the US of a Bulgari, Cartier or Van Cleef & Arpels.
That’s beginning to change. After a decade of expansion in Asia, Boucheron opens its first boutique in New York this September, followed in the next few years by shops in Beverly Hills, Las Vegas and Miami.
The growing footprint reflects the brand’s success: In 2024’s first-quarter revenue report by parent group Kering SA, Boucheron was one of the few houses on the rise, growing by double digits.
Why is Boucheron so hot as luxury softens across the board? Customers of fine jewelry have begun to look outside iconic items such as Van Cleef & Arpels’ Alhambra line and Cartier’s Love bracelets, designs that are so beloved they’ve become ubiquitous—and imitated. Now, shoppers are looking for styles that feel more under the radar.
Boucheron offers plenty of those, largely with its daring high jewelry collections, which look unlike anything that’s come to market, says Grant Mobley of Only Natural Diamonds magazine: “The consumers currently driving the luxury market are increasingly drawn to distinctive, timeless pieces from storied brands, and Boucheron stands out.” Its creations have captured the attention of this ultrahigh-net-worth audience, which “values style and craftsmanship over conspicuous designs that are often faked.”
Each year, the maison presents two high jewelry collections under creative director Claire Choisne. In each, the pieces are one-of-a-kind and usually priced upon request. Histoire de Style in January revisits Boucheron’s legacy of jewels set in traditional designs, whereas its Carte Blanche collections in July are more avant-garde, using materials and techniques that can be described as out of this world: In a 2020 necklace, Choisne used an aerogel that insulates NASA’s Mars rover.
These masterpieces can be massive in scale and juxtapose the finest rare gemstones with more humble materials such as rock crystal (clear quartz), which is a signature of the maison. The latest collection, Or Bleu (blue gold), explores the swirling world of water with Iceland’s extraordinary landscape as inspiration.
One of the most inventive examples is a 148-centimeter (58-inch) diamond necklace that falls almost to the knees to represent a flowing waterfall. Another, crafted from circles of rock crystal set with diamonds, mimics drops of water rippling across a lake. A curling diamond-set ear cuff simulates crashing waves.
“It’s pretty spectacular in terms of not just the creativity of the design, but how did they make it?” says Frank Everett, vice chairman of jewelry Americas at Sotheby’s. “How do you construct that piece and marry all those diamonds with rock crystal?”
The pictured Iceberg necklace was inspired by Fellsfjara, a black sand beach covered in pieces of icebergs that washed ashore; Boucheron’s artisans spent 2,000 hours merging carved rock crystal and diamonds to build it. Everett says that despite their wild appearances—and no-doubt wild prices—these jewels “are worn and enjoyed. One of the great things with a one-off piece is that you only need one person to love it.”
(Corrects revenue details in the third paragraph.)
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