Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
Travel is a central theme for any Louis Vuitton creation, and its new array of megawatt Mythica jewels certainly ups the ante on the idea. The collection, which was revealed in Morocco last month, is intended to evoke the image of a modern-day woman who charts her own course. At its heart is the Conquest necklace, a masterpiece that feels as though it could have been uncovered at the end of an epic voyage.
Twenty-one cushion-step-cut rubies from Mozambique, totaling 21.87 carats, blaze across the collar. Rubies have long been called the king of gemstones, and these stones—chosen for their remarkable crystalline clarity—carry the kind of intensity collectors once only associated with the legendary Burmese rubies of decades past. Their vivid pinkish-red tone glows against a cascade of diamonds along sharp, directional arrow forms, imparting a sense of power. At the center sits a 1.07-carat LV Monogram Star–cut diamond—a touch that signals the necklace’s maker without shouting its origin.
Finding stones worthy of such a piece was a journey in itself. The necklace is the result of four years of dedicated gemstone sourcing and more than 1,200 hours of craftsmanship. The rubies were chosen not only for their vivid color but also for their exceptional translucent quality. Rubies tend to be placed in more traditional settings, but here they appear against a sculptural backdrop of spear-like forms in three colors of 18-karat gold—yellow, white, and rose—accented with onyx. Like sparks igniting, the result is a piece that feels alive with energy rather than a dowdy relic of the past. This smart execution is just a taste of the Mythica saga. Spanning 11 themes, the 110 pieces in the collection also include Colombian emeralds, cat’s-eye blue topaz, natural zircon, and Santa Maria–type aquamarines to bring color to both geometric and fluid shapes. Louis Vuitton has a rich history of crafting accessories for the adventure-ready, but its roots in jewelry are relatively new compared with other maisons. The voyage into high jewelry began in 2009, but its fresh perspective has quickly established the luxury maker as a force to be reckoned with—not unlike the woman for whom it envisions its jewels.
