Jewellery is more than a simple adornment for Francesca Amfitheatrof. As Louis Vuitton’s Artistic Director of jewellery and watches, it makes sense that the connection runs much deeper than that. In fact, one of her earliest memories centres around a piece of jewellery.
“As memories are based on emotions, when I think of my grandmother I think of elegance, gentleness and kindness,” Amfitheatrof reflects. “My grandmother had a beautiful gold chain with a large amber pendant, honey-coloured, with a little dragonfly inside. I used to sit on her knee as a child, listening to my grandfather play the piano, watching that pendant swing back and forth in front of me. I couldn’t understand how the dragonfly got in there, but I was mesmerised. I was maybe three or four years old. It was one of my earliest memories.”
It’s just one of the memories she holds dear from a colourful childhood. Born in Tokyo, Amfitheatrof says she has spent her adult life trying to recreate the adventure and expansion of her childhood. “I spend my adult life trying to make it as adventurous and interesting as my childhood was, I was brought up travelling the world and living in a very culturally informed family and I have always used my work primarily to enrich my life and travel is at the heart of it. My style is a mix of Japanese purity, Italian beauty and English creativity. I am definitely a nomad at heart, and I could not work for a more appropriate Maison that is steeped in culture and adventure.”
What is it about jewellery (in particular, diamonds) that so captured this nomad’s imagination?
“Diamonds are the only object that we can hold in our hand that represent the beginning of our planet,” Amfitheatrof explains. “Diamonds were formed in the big bang and they represent life itself. How often do we stop and think about the fact that a diamond was formed over 3 billion years ago? No wonder they are the perfect choice to mark life’s most powerful moments!”
But even natural perfection can be improved upon – at least if you work at Louis Vuitton. The Maison’s most recent triumph is a pair of unique diamond cuts, the LV Monogram Star and LV Monogram Flower. Inspired by the iconic monogram created by Georges Louis-Vuitton in 1896, Amfitheatrof says “we wanted to create something of such exceptional beauty and unique designs that we created these two diamond cuts to represent the most powerful energy in life, that is love.”
It was no easy feat. “The LV Monogram Star cut is a revolution in the diamond jewellery, the Holy Grail in the diamond industry. We have our own cut, and you can distinguish it. Anyone in the world who sees the LV cut will understand this means purity, quality, and traceability. It is absolutely unique!” Amfitheatrof explains. “Creating this cut has been a very long process during which we had to overcome some challenges to enhancing the diamond’s refraction and having a pure play of light.” And, says Amfitheatrof, turning a rough diamond into a LV Monogram Star cut is a technical achievement in and of itself. “Making a perfect symmetry four times per stone (four clefts) despite the hardness of the material, requires a very sharp know-how only a few manufacturers in the industry can achieve.”
The Louis Vuitton diamond collection may be steeped in history, but it’s cutting edge, too. “Whoever is going to be lucky enough to own a Louis Vuitton diamond will treasure it and hand it down generation to generation,” Amfitheatrof says. “Diamonds have been a symbol of love since they were found in India in the 4th century BC but it has taken until 2022 for a diamond to be cut into the shape of a flower and star. You can imagine how incredibly proud we are to offer these two cuts because they truly are a representation of everything we believe in at Louis Vuitton.”
For Amfitheatrof, “There is no object in the world more powerful than a piece of jewellery. For something so small to have such significance is truly magical.”
Amfitheatrof studied at the acclaimed Central Saint Martins and Royal College of Art in London, and there’s a depth to her appreciation of jewels that speaks to her artistic background. “I am still very close to both colleges and often go back to teach, mentor and lecture,” she shares. “I was lucky enough to attend CSM and the RCA in England during one of the most significant booms in the creative industries that have impacted worldwide fashion, fine art and applied arts. I am also on the board of Sarabande, the Alexander McQueen foundation, whom I was very close to and education is one of my passions to which I dedicate myself to and support greatly.”
In the book Francesca Amfitheatrof: Fantastical Jewels published by Rizzoli, Amfitheatrof had her friend Cate Blanchett write the foreword. “Francesca Amfitbeatrog is not simply a master jeweller; she is an alchemist and an adventuress. With each collection, each creation, she invites us to venture into the magical worlds of her fast-reaching, exotic imagination fuled by a deep love of beauty,” writes Blanchett.
“Jewellery has the power to hold the spirit of a person like nothing else in the world.”
Francesca Amfitbeatrog
As a woman in a position of power in the luxury industry, Amfitheatrof has some sage advice to share: “I think women have an ambiguous relationship with power and at times can be misunderstood and therefore my advice is that women should understand how powerful they are, feel the constant power within them and not feel only the few moments that they can taste it.”
Brilliant, in every sense of the world.
This article originally appeared on Marie Claire Australia and is republished here with permission.
