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During a performance last week at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, an ancient theatre at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens, dancers wearing head harnesses mounted with torches shone lights on models wearing spectacular jewellery, to music by French violinist Renaud Capuçon. The pieces on display were from, Deep Time, the latest high jewellery collection by Louis Vuitton’s artistic director of watches and jewellery, Francesca Amfitheatrof. With 180 pieces in total, it is Louis Vuitton’s largest high jewellery collection to date — and signals the luxury brand’s continued ambitions for the category.
“We have the vision, the ambition and we have the backing to do it,” Amfitheatrof tells Vogue Business during its two-day high jewellery presentation.
Jewellery is a small part of the house’s total sales but given the scale of Louis Vuitton (more than €20 billion in 2022) even a small portion means sizable business and it’s the fastest-growing category. Still, in focusing on this field Louis Vuitton has to navigate an increasingly competitive environment. It is not only up against specialised jewellers such as Cartier (the largest jeweller, with estimated sales surpassing €10 billion) and Tiffany (which, under the ownership of LVMH, is upping its high jewellery game and expanding to new categories), but also a growing number of fine and high jewellery collections from fashion brands.
Amfitheatrof is confident. The Greece event (held first at the the Amanzoe hotel in the Peloponnese, then in Athens for the Odeon of Herodes Atticus performance) drew a mix of press and celebrities including actors Ana de Armas, Léa Seydoux and Urassaya Sperbund, followed by VIP clients in the succeeding days. Guests came to see pieces such as the ‘Rupture’ necklace of yellow sapphires, Mexican opals and zircons; and the ‘Wave’, which features an exceptional sapphire from Sri Lanka.
“We buy the best colour stones, We have the most amazing gemologist” said Amfitheatrof. “We make quick decisions. We don’t have this huge structure, we can really be very nimble, which is important when buying stones because it’s quite competitive and we buy the best of the best of the best. That has grown in people’s understanding of Vuitton that they are going to invest in a stone. It’s one of the best investments you can make. One of these coloured diamonds is better than investing in the stock market.”
There is buy-in from the top. Three weeks after Pietro Beccari took over as chairman and CEO of Louis Vuitton in January, he was reportedly presented with the opportunity to buy a set of three exceptional pear-shaped diamonds: one green, one pink and one orange. Amfitheatrof and Catherine Lacaze, global director of watches and jewellery, were there. It had taken a year and half to source the rare stones and such a purchase — understood to be priceless, though Louis Vuitton does not disclose the value — requires approval by the CEO. Beccari gave the green light.
The three diamonds were on display at the Amanzoe last week (the house doesn’t sell loose stones but presents them to clients), as was the Sewelo — the second largest rough diamond ever discovered, which was purchased for Louis Vuitton under Beccari’s predecessor Michael Burke.
A house of ideas
Louis Vuitton is relatively new to the field, having entered fine jewellery in 2001 and high jewellery in 2008, which means it doesn’t have the same rich archives to draw upon as some of its competitors. Amfitheatrof doesn’t see this as a disadvantage, however. “I find it great. We are living too much in an archival era. We have freedom and I think Vuitton is such a house of ideas and I think having three artistic directors [Amfitheatrof sits alongside Nicolas Ghesquière in women’s and Pharrell Williams in men’s], already that is a whirlwind of ideas,” she said.
“Louis Vuitton is relatively new to jewellery but it has the firepower in terms of marketing, product knowledge, retail network, etc., to create icons in a shorter timeframe than what is traditionally in jewellery,” says Mario Ortelli, managing director of luxury advisory firm Ortelli Co.
Amfitheatrof has a strong track record: she joined Louis Vuitton in 2018 from Tiffany, where she created lines such as Tiffany T and Hardwear that are still driving sales. At Louis Vuitton, she is behind the success of LV Volt, a striking unisex line. Her new fine jewellery collection, Blossom Silhouette, is slated for August.
Louis Vuitton has what Amfitheatrof calls the “holy grail” in jewellery: its own cut of diamond (the star and the flower of the Louis Vuitton monogram). “When I first arrived at Vuitton, It’s one of the things that I was obsessed with pursuing,” she explains. “We had to train cutters, it’s a difficult cut. Since the marquise, there hasn t been such an innovation with cutting.” Her new collection features the Louis Vuitton-cut diamonds.
Amfitheatrof is a compelling communicator. “I put a lot of narrative in the collections that I do,” she says. “Even for our clients, they love hearing the story, hearing it from a person. I really believe in authorship. I think it’s better business in a way.” She adds that this vision is a “massive team effort”. “Even though there is an artistic director, it’s still the maison that makes it happen.”
As the world’s largest luxury house, Louis Vuitton has an unbeatable edge: a client who buys a Louis Vuitton Capucines handbag or clothes may well be interested in buying its jewellery. Conversely, jewellery and high jewellery allow the house to engage with its coveted highest-spending clients. Synergies between categories are happening “more and more”, Amfitheatrof says, though she won’t get the chance to work directly with Williams, whose first collection for Louis Vuitton will be presented on Tuesday at Paris Fashion Week Men’s. The designer, who she describes as “a great jewellery lover”, was already collaborating with Tiffany when he was appointed at Louis Vuitton.
However, she teams up with Ghesquière to dress stars for the awards season. “There are celebrities that are very close to the maison. They are really getting to know the jewellery, getting to love it. It has naturally happened; it s not something that we force on each other.” She also spoke with Ghesquière for the high jewellery show and models were wearing dresses made by the house’s studio. “Last year was the first time we worked closely with the studio. This year, Nicolas got more involved… The Louis Vuitton woman is really coming together, which is kind of fabulous,” she says.
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