Strands of BOUCHERON, a Carte Blanche creation enters the permanent collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum
© BOUCHERON
A crystal block, a hidden motif embedded in its heart, a surface capable of fragmenting the light spectrum: « Faisceaux » is not to be understood in a single glance. Designed by the Maison BOUCHERON For its Carte Blanche «Holographic» collection (2021), the brooch is now joining the permanent collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
The starting point is a block of rock crystal. The material is carefully carved to house a motif inspired by the Jack aesthetic, entirely paved with diamonds. The gaze travels through the transparency and reveals a glowing heart, suspended in space. This interplay of interiority transforms the brooch into an optical volume: the crystal’s magnifying effect alters the perception of proportions and blurs the boundaries.
To this internal architecture is added a unique technical intervention. A thin film of metallic powders is projected at high temperature onto the surface. The process creates a holographic film capable of decomposing the light spectrum. Depending on the angle, the piece changes from pink to iridescent shades, without ever freezing the color. The brooch not only reflects light, it redistributes it.
This work is part of the Carte Blanche collections, initiated in 2020 as a laboratory of ideas alongside the «Histoire de Style» collections. Claire Choisne and her studio question the notion of value, which has shifted from the weight of gems to the visual and emotional experience. «Holographic» explored precisely this relationship between matter and perception.
Within the Victoria and Albert Museum, «Faisceaux» joins works BOUCHERON dating from 1875 to the 1960s: enamelled jewelry, precious objects, sculptural watches. The dialogue is subtle but real. Where the old pieces bear witness to decorative and technical virtuosity, the contemporary brooch introduces an optical dimension, almost scientific.
The London institution, dedicated to applied arts and design, thus welcomes a creation that blurs the boundaries between jewelry and lighting devices. This is a way of reminding us that heritage is not limited to preserving the past: it is also built on today’s research.
