The Piaget Rose
The rose, quintessentially feminine, enduringly sophisticated, occupies a very special – even unique – place in Piaget’s collections. Just as it does in the heart of M. Yves Piaget. The Piaget Rose, with velvety petals of sculpted gold or glistening diamonds, is the one and only figurative design in the Maison’s creative repertoire, a much-loved signature with a strong connection to the Piaget family; a fragrant reminder of the intensely personal story that underpins the brand.
Yves Piaget, the vivacious visionary who took the helm of the Maison in the early 1980s, grew up in the Swiss watchmaking village of La Côte-aux-Fées, in the Jura mountains that are carpeted in spring and summer with wildflowers. Nature was a constant presence in M. Piaget’s life, particularly the flowers, plants and trees of the Jura forests, and, as he began to make his mark in the family business, it soon became clear that he drew his creative energy and his irrepressible flamboyance from the life force of the natural world. As Yves G.Piaget used to say in his own words : “The rose is the most universal flower. For me, it brings to mind childhood and my first love for the wild roses called Sweet Briars, which grow at 1.100 meters”. So that it was a natural progression for him to become infatuated with the beauty of the rose; a natural move too for him to capture that beauty, with all its legends and associations, through the skills of the artisans and the mastery of gold, for which Piaget – the House of Gold – had become famous.
In 1976, Yves Piaget joined the Geneva International New Rose Competition – created in 1947 – as a member first, before becoming president of the jury. Yves Piaget decided in 1979 to create a life-size gold rose to be awarded each year, for thirty years, to the winner of the competition. An event followed by a gala dinner elegantly named “Le Bal des Roses”. In 1982, Yves Piaget’s passion and expertise were honoured when a special rose bred by celebrated rose grower, Alain Meilland, was named after him. The Yves Piaget Rose (later called in 2012 the Piaget Rose), a much-loved species, is an intense pink hybrid rose, peony-like, its 80 petals with frilled, serrated edges, and a rich fragrance. Yves Piaget’s passion kept him involved in the world of roses, sponsoring international competitions and supporting the renovation of famous rose gardens including La Malmaison and the Princess Grace of Monaco Rose Garden. So entwined was the rose with the Piaget story, becoming something of a talismanic emblem for the company, that in 2012, 30 years after the naming of the Yves Piaget Rose, the Maison launched the first Rose-themed collection, followed in 2014 by the Rose Passion High Jewellery collection. Marking and celebrating the devotion to beauty and to the natural world that remains at the heart of Piaget.
The blossoming of the Piaget Rose
The Piaget Rose flourishes in the radiance of golden sunlight, an enduring inspiration to the Maison’s creativity and craftsmanship. This spring, a lively capsule collection presents a delectable bouquet of newly bloomed diamond-set Rose Fine Jewellery pieces, along with a High Jewellery set featuring white diamonds with flashes of vibrant, leaf green emeralds. Poised between naturalism and abstraction, these are roses that grow in lush abundance from bud to blossom, spreading across the hand on a between-the-finger ring, where the meticulously articulated foliage flutters up and down, or climbing up around a tactile sliding pendant, designed to be worn all day, everyday.
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The same versatility and ingenuity applies to the High Jewellery ring, offering three different options, a choice of styles and moods within one ring: the emerald alone as a classic single stone ring, on a diamond band; the roses alone, removing the emerald, to create a contemporary between-the-fingers ring, shifting the limelight onto the flower itself and the innovative structure; or with both emerald and roses, a garden of gem-delights. The stunning bouquet also climbs around the ears, playfully mismatched with a single earring designed as marquise-diamond leaves clustered around a centre emerald. Petals are delicately chiselled, their linear silhouettes contrasting with the lusciousness of multi-layers, on which diamonds seem to rest lightly, like dewdrops. Leaves are formed by marquise-cut diamonds, a hint of the 1970s, a golden era of Piaget’s daring creativity. Asymmetry is a defining feature of the new rose jewels, suggesting the unstoppable, random growth of the natural world, and the ever-youthful energy of roses, life and love nurtured by the warmth of Piaget’s sun-drenched spirit.
Flowers and jewels go hand in hand through history. Amongst the earliest of adornments, flowers have held an irresistible challenge for every generation of goldsmiths and jewellers, in every age. The mystical beauty of the rose, the queen of flowers, the essence of femininity, the emblem of romance, holds a special allure for jewellers, the challenge of translating the flower’s voluptuous sensuality, channelling its emotions, turning the ephemeral into the eternal. As Piaget shows to perfection – capturing the fleeting magnificence of the rose in the everlasting light of precious gems and metals, gold for lilting, silky softness and diamonds for dew-laden poetry.
Piaget Piaget Rose
