The new Hermès high jewellery collection Lex Jeux de L’ombre is here, and it has us tapping into both our light and dark feminine energy. Pierre Hardy was intrigued by the movement of shadow and its relationship with light. “We always talk about light and sparkle in jewellery, so I wanted to take the opposite approach,” he notes. “In the performing arts I’ve always loved the incandescent effect of the spotlights as well as the shadows they cast on the stage floor. I find this distortion of light very appealing.” Drama and desire! Flat-cut white diamonds are shadowed by dégradés of black spinels, on earrings and rings, shadows take the material form of jade, blue sapphires bring va va volume to the chaine d’ancre chain link and the triptych necklaces take on mechanical-esque forms. These deep ‘shadows’ are contrasted to radiant brilliance in rough, uncut stones. 

“Yes, the triptych necklaces, or light boxes, as I like to call them,” Hardy says. “I designed them to be like altarpieces, with sliding mother-of-pearl panels that open up to reveal a hidden medallion. They can be worn open or closed, depending on whether you want to keep their sunlight to yourself or share it with others. Shadows have an inner light. I had this intuition one day when I was looking at Caravaggio’s painting and his chiaroscuros. So I designed these pieces to be tiny theatres that could both hide and show off this light.” The collection is Hermès-theatrical and fabulous, photographed brilliantly below by Elizaveta Porodina. These are Hermès treasures. 

Les jeux de l’ombre, the new high jewellery collection is showcased at the 24, Faubourg Saint-Honoré Store in Paris from July 7-30, 2022.

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