Gucci’s bewitching labyrinths

COVER STORY

December 2024


Gucci's bewitching labyrinths

Gucci’s latest high jewellery collection, Labirinti Gucci, comprises 140 pieces inspired by the beauty of Italian gardens and mysterious mazes. It invites us to wander through a world of precious stones and contemplate the power of nature’s beauty.

T

he Labirinti Gucci collection explores the orderly beauty and enigmatic geometry of Italian gardens. It takes us on a journey through lush landscapes punctuated by mysterious labyrinths and enchanting mazes. This is not raw, untamed nature. Rather, it is nature elegantly shaped by human hands and reason – much like the collection itself.

In ancient myth, labyrinths symbolised the search for meaning and truth. Venturing into a maze meant confronting the mystical world – or oneself. This collection offers multiple layers for interpretation. The necklaces are more than just precious ornaments or investment pieces: they convey messages that are open to multiple readings.

Compared with the previous four collections, Labirinti Gucci marks a shift towards a more classical style and signals a new direction for the house of Gucci. It abounds with colourful gems: spinels, green tourmalines, emeralds, tsavorites, Paraiba tourmalines, blue spinels, mandarin garnets, blue sapphires, lagoon tourmalines and aquamarines. The beauty and rarity of these stones is sure to captivate connoisseurs and collectors. Standout pieces include a detachable 113.35-carat green tourmaline, a 28.07-carat spinel, a 62.58-carat octagonal-cut Santa Maria aquamarine from Brazil and a rare 20.45-carat Paraiba tourmaline.

Labirinti Gucci necklace in white gold with emeralds, white and fancy diamonds.
Labirinti Gucci necklace in white gold with emeralds, white and fancy diamonds.

Gucci unveiled the 140 pieces of the Labirinti Gucci collection at the Oscar Niemeyer Auditorium in Ravello on the Amalfi Coast. This enchanting setting, with its cliffside gardens, provided the perfect backdrop to showcase Gucci’s style and heritage through a theme that evokes a sublimated interpretation of nature, composed not of flowers and plants but of gold and extraordinary gems.

Structured around three themes – symmetry and ordered beauty, geometric splendour and flourishing nature – the Labirinti Gucci collection is full of elements that surprise and delight. The artisans have captured the essence of winding paths leading to dead ends and false trails, cleverly incorporating Gucci’s ‘G’ motif. Hidden in links or closures, or boldly underpinning the architecture of the pieces themselves, this diamond-paved letter runs through the collection like a secret code. Its geometric shape offers a dual interpretation as it evokes both the house’s signature and the contours of a labyrinth – a subtle touch.

Each piece is a precious oxymoron, simultaneously conveying elegance and extravagance, nature and design, symmetry and exuberance, aesthetic purity and abundance. The collection harmoniously blends the rational and the emotional – two creative forces that drive human activity.

Symmetry and ordered beauty

Italian gardens have long captured the essence of beauty through balanced harmony and refined design, and Labirinti Gucci reflects this in its distilled forms and radiant gems. The collection subtly expresses Gucci’s identity through a frieze featuring a discreet G logo, which can also be read as an opulent maze.

This dual interpretation of the G is particularly apparent in a cuff bracelet featuring a 5.93-carat Colombian emerald of intense green with ‘garden’ type inclusions, highlighted by five fancy diamonds. The gems are integrated into a linear diamond-paved G-shaped motif.

Labirinti Gucci ring in white gold with rubellite, tsavorites and diamonds.
Labirinti Gucci ring in white gold with rubellite, tsavorites and diamonds.

Another masterpiece – a necklace seemingly designed in two parts – epitomises the collection’s spirit. An exuberant flower bed is paired with symmetrical, interlaced motifs, as if unbridled nature is gradually overtaking reason. At its heart lies an extraordinary 28.07-carat spinel, accompanied by tourmaline rubellite beads and pear-cut tsavorites. This piece, recreating nature’s unrestrained abundance, showcases Gucci’s exceptional craftsmanship.

Geometric splendour

To evoke labyrinthine paths, the artisans have designed their jewellery around the concept of geometric harmony, while capturing the romanticism of floral forms in sumptuous necklaces. One such creation combines a 53.25-carat lagoon tourmaline with a fascinating 19.68-carat Ethiopian opal, framed by mandarin garnets and brilliant opals in a striking diamond-set design.

Labirinti Gucci necklace in white gold with green tourmaline, multicoloured tourmalines and diamonds.
Labirinti Gucci necklace in white gold with green tourmaline, multicoloured tourmalines and diamonds.

The celebration of pure lines and gems continues with a thematic necklace centred on a rare 20.45-carat Paraiba tourmaline, emanating shades from sparkling green to light blue. A trio of yellow sapphires totalling 17.77 carats is suspended from the stone, which rests on a diamond-paved white gold chain echoing Gucci’s G motif.

A series of aquamarine and tourmaline pieces pay tribute to harmony, colour and form. Their complex labyrinthine patterns can be interpreted as an allegory for life’s surprises.

Natural abundance

To represent the abundance of nature, Gucci is introducing a new element: the dragonfly. This iridescent creature of graceful beauty is immortalised in a series of brooches adorned with luminous coloured stones. A cornucopia of tanzanites, Paraiba tourmalines and white diamonds mingles with green emeralds and fancy diamonds. Symbolising freedom and rebirth, the dragonfly also adorns mismatched earrings set with pink spinels, emeralds and diamonds.

Labirinti Gucci necklace in white gold with aquamarine, blue sapphire, Paraiba and green tourmalines and diamonds.
Labirinti Gucci necklace in white gold with aquamarine, blue sapphire, Paraiba and green tourmalines and diamonds.

Bouquets of sparkling necklaces capture the essence of nature in full bloom, including a particularly striking piece featuring a 113.35-carat elongated green tourmaline as its centrepiece – one of the collection’s most imposing gems. Flawless and extraordinarily vivid, this detachable stone offers versatile wearing options. Another exquisite floral necklace is set with a 60.89-carat tanzanite of pure, deep blue, the focus of a chain of precious tanzanites, diamonds, Paraiba and fancy tourmalines in a beautiful floral arrangement.

The Labirinti Gucci collection embodies the quintessence of Gucci’s high jewellery art. If the labyrinth is a metaphor for life’s journey, these jewels are works of art that invite reflection on the power of beauty, nature and human creativity.

Labirinti Gucci dragonfly brooch in white gold with emeralds, tanzanites and diamonds.
Labirinti Gucci dragonfly brooch in white gold with emeralds, tanzanites and diamonds.