The new collection from De Beers Jewellers honours the symbolic transformation of a butterfly, highlighting its delicacy and playfulness in the design and celebrating the role it plays in nature.
Butterflies are a beautiful barometer of nature. Important pollinators of flowers and plants, butterflies increase biodiversity. Yet their fragility also makes them extremely sensitive to change. They are one of the first species to be impacted by climate variations and habitat fragmentation, but they are also one of the first species to return as habitats start to recover. And they do not stand still, evolving from one day to the next to unveil beauty and wonder. In the same way, the collection invites wearers to have pride and revel in revealing their true selves, their personal transformations, and their connection to nature.
“Every piece in the Portraits of Nature collection is an ethereal expression of the wearer’s ever-evolving personal journey. Flashing with the brilliance of De Beers’ ethically sourced diamonds, the designs connect the wearer to nature and life in motion,” says Céline Assimon, CEO of De Beers Jewellers. “The African Monarch butterfly is iconic within Africa, a continent close to our heart, so with this new collection we connect our clients to the De Beers Diamond Route, 500,000 acres of conservation land which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.”
Eleven pieces make up the Fine Jewellery collection, fluttering in as the quintessentially perfect gift or self-purchase. Modern elegance and free-spirited playfulness characterise the collection, with pavé-set diamonds tracing the shapes of the butterfly’s wings, accentuated by a mix of fancy cut diamonds and illuminated by intricate diamond patterns that sparkle from every angle, creating a sense of movement.
The pendant in either 18k white or rose gold, features openwork that plays with light, while the body of the butterfly is represented by a marquise diamond. A graceful yet playful ring, beguiling stud earrings and a distinctive, dainty bracelet are also available in both 18k rose and white gold. The necklace, with its curving pavé-set line of white diamonds, seamlessly segues into the wings of the butterfly, while an open ring suggests the butterfly is simply sitting on the hand, capturing an ephemeral moment in time. Likewise, diamond pavé-set sleeper earrings suspend a duo of sensational butterfly motifs.
In the High Jewellery collection, the openwork wings sparkle with unexpected details, and in their delicate design, capture the way butterflies land but never stay still for long. Detachable elements offer the gift of transformation, while new colourways in fancy colour diamonds reflect the iridescence of their wings.
The stunning butterfly brooch in all-white diamonds can be purchased as a standalone piece but can also be clipped onto the 18k white gold white diamond necklace. Delightfully, the butterfly then appears to float on the ribbon of cascading diamonds. The brooch also comes in four other colourways, offering the possibility of alternative transformations.
The cocktail ring features an exquisite openwork butterfly that appears to rest on the finger, while those on the earrings are softly closing their wings, with detachable pear-shaped diamond drops. Both the ring and the earrings are available in white diamonds, as well as in varying colourways, the fancy colour diamonds reflecting the glow and glimmer of the creature’s wings. To complete the High Jewellery offering is a dazzling headband in white diamonds, the butterfly motif alighting on the hair can be detached, transforming into a stunning diamond brooch. Uniquely versatile, this piece can also be worn on its own as a simple diamond hair decoration.
BUILDING FOREVER AND THE DIAMOND ROUTE
With more butterfly species (over 100) in just one of our eight Diamond Route properties than in the whole of the UK, this collection honours these remarkable creatures and celebrates the conservation successes achieved within our Diamond Route, as we mark its 20th anniversary.
The campaign for the collection was shot within the area, with filming taking place at De Beers Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve in South Africa, the perfect backdrop to our belief butterflies and diamonds are both precious treasures of nature, undergoing magical transformation to reveal their unique beauty. A picture of grace and magic, hope and new beginnings.
