here is a place amidst the rooftops of Paris where the most enchanting jewellery is born. A closely guarded secret, the Dior High Jewellery workshop is where the masterpieces that take seed in Victoire de Castellane’s imagination come alive.

A surprise awaited us on the day of our visit, nested in its case. The Forêt Enchantée necklace is the pièce de résistance of the Diorama collection. The eye is drawn not so much to the 16.16-carat Colombian emerald as the profusion of nature surrounding it. Delicately engraved gold branches and leaves, sprinkled with flowers in tsavorite garnets, pearls and diamonds, are instilled with life. Three fawns, a swan, a squirrel and a rabbit carved from a block of milky-green chrysoprase emerge, tempted from this precious woodland by the light, or simply curiosity. Are we looking at them or are they observing us? This is their realm, an enchanted forest deserving of its name.

An imaginary nature

The inspiration behind the Diorama collection is Toile de Jouy. This fabric, with its pattern of pastoral scenes, was a personal favourite of Christian Dior who in 1947 chose it to furnish his boutique at 30 Avenue Montaigne in Paris. The collection’s 172 pieces were presented in Florence in May on 25 models who wore gowns which had been specially created by Maria Grazia Chiuri, artistic director for the house’s haute couture, ready-to-wear and women’s accessories. In a collaboration that began five years ago, Victoire de Castellane shows Chiuri the gouache renderings to explain the collection’s theme, and she then imagines dresses in harmony with the jewellery. Thus clients can acquire jewels and a haute couture gown to go with them. Few houses can offer such a sophisticated proposal.

Adjusting the Forêt Enchantée necklace, designed by Victoire de Castellane for Dior High Jewellery and presented in Florence, in May 2024. ©Pierre Mouton

But back to the workshop that brought this Forêt Enchantée to life. It was opened two and a half years ago, specifically to create the centrepieces for the high jewellery collections as well as bespoke jewels, and to carry out research and development for Dior High Jewellery. First, though, these collections originate in Victoire de Castellane’s effervescent imagination. The artistic director has been astonishing us for the past 25 years, drawing on her experience in costume jewellery to bring a breath of fresh air to the highly codified world of high jewellery, bringing playfulness, magic, freedom and a disregard for formality and convention that have become an example for others.

A jewel is born

Victoire de Castellane shares her ideas and inspirations with the design studio. “The team produces sketches and drawings which we show Victoire. They can be reworked several times, in line with her wishes. Once the sketches match what she has in mind, we make the gouache rendering,” explains Eric, the chef d’atelier. He and his team are interpreters, transforming the artistic director’s imaginings into three dimensions, calling on every specialisation from gem-setting to engraving, from carving to lost wax casting and polishing. Only the most exceptional pieces are crafted here; the others are entrusted to workshops which have been partners to Dior for the past 25 years.

“Once the gouache has been signed off, I calculate the cost, estimate the time required to make the piece and source the materials. After this, we produce a CAD design then 3D-print a model so that Victoire can approve the volumes and proportions,” Eric continues.

The Forêt Enchantée necklace is beautiful both front and back. The centrestone is a 16.16-carat Colombian emerald. Gouache, gem-setting, engraving and polishing, almost every step in creating the necklace were carried out at Dior’s High Jewellery workshop. ©Dior

Then begins the actual handcrafting of the jewel. “Once the volume has been approved, we make a green wax model, sculpting, sawing, piercing and shaping the piece. After Victoire has signed off the wax model, we send it to the caster who returns it to us a few days later in precious metal. This is what’s known as lost wax casting. Then the jewellers work on the precious metal cast, sawing, soldering, assembling and creating the articulations to give the piece its almost final appearance, prior to polishing. I always have a piece polished before setting the stones because often there are intermediate stages which, once assembled, make certain parts impossible to reach. After polishing, we reassemble what can be assembled and the rest goes off to the gem-setters.”

6,500 hours to create the Forêt Enchantée suite

Depending on the degree of complexity, a piece of jewellery takes between 12 and 18 months to complete. The Forêt Enchantée suite of a necklace, earrings and ring was a total 6,500 hours in the making, including 4,300 hours for the necklace alone, which is as beautiful from the front as from the back. The workshop tried out various engraving techniques before selecting one for the leaves, even the smallest of which has a central rib and multiple veins. There is beauty in the tiniest detail, including the prongs that secure the centrestone. As Eric explains, they were individually shaped to resemble a branch or a leaf. The entire piece appears to be held together by magic when in reality every detail has been meticulously planned down to the hidden screws securing the woodland creatures.

Animals carved from a block of chrysoprase

They were carved by a glyptic artist from a block of chrysoprase. “We couldn’t have chosen jade, it would have been too green, whereas chalcedony would be too pale. It had to be a stone with a certain mattness. We acquired four chrysoprase roughs weighing around 600 grams, the equivalent of 2,996 carats. You can see here the pieces that were left, around 300 grams. For all the animals in the set, we used 102.75 carats, of which 11.15 carats for the earrings and 18.05 carats for the ring,” Eric continues.

Victoire de Castellane asked that the animals be carved using glyptic, the age-old art of carving and sculpting stone. Only a handful of specialists master this technique and, luckily, some are based in Paris – including the person who created fawns, squirrels and friends for the Forêt Enchantée suite.

In an earlier interview, Victoire de Castellane spoke about how she sees jewellery as “a treasure, a talisman and a symbol of power. Jewellery is passed down, gifted with love. It represents a language, my language. Gemstones, colours and drawings are words and sentences.” With the Diorama & Diorigami collection, Victoire de Castellane has written a magical story in gold, pearls and precious stones. A story for women who see the world with a child’s wonder.