A high-end French jeweler Mellerio has created a historically inspired jewelry set in the style of the décor of Marie Antoinette’s private rooms. It’s called “Jardin des Reves” and includes a colorful necklace in the shape of a pineapple and one bold earring. Although the pendant can be worn alone, it looks better when it’s placed next to the one earring. And if you look at the picture, you’ll see how whimsical the set is, as if it’s taken from some fairy tale.
Laure-Isabelle Mellerio, an artistic director and the 14th-generation descendant of the founding family, spoke of the fruit’s beauty. She says that at that time, pineapple was “the queen of fruits”. It looked juicy, opulent, and innovative, like the queen’s own taste.
The pineapple hangs from a 1.13-ct oval Mellerio-cut diamond encrusted with over 8.1 cts of gems and 305 micro-set stones featured in the leafy crown. The filigree technique, which was used in the pendant, imitated the texture of the real fruit.
The Toile de Jouy tapestry was used as the inspiration for the piece (not its motifs, but the pallette). 27 different shades of stones were needed to recreate a similar visual effect. A bunch of transparent and semi-transparent precious stones such as topazes, aquamarines, rubellites, morganites, tanzanites, heliodores, and, of course, multicolored sapphires were used. Collectively, they weighed 170 cts and were all featured in the piece.
Video presentation courtesy of MELLERIO.
According to managing director Christophe Melard, the “Jardin des Reves” set is a symbol of Mellerio’s personal character. It’s playful, bold, vivid, and unafraid to go away from what high-end pieces generally look like. He compared the set to previous works and said that it kind of looks theatrical, yet very delicately made, all at the same time. What’s interesting is how wearable this piece feels, despite being high-end.
You may not know the history behind the piece, but once Jean-Baptiste Mellerio sold a similar-looking bracelet to Marie Antoinette. The design became well-known at the Palace of Versailles at that time. And around 250 years later, the pineapple centerpiece was inspired by a colorful tapestry from one of Marie Antoinette’s own rooms (however, it didn’t show a pineapple, but a field of wild flowers).
As for the piece price, it’s valued at €910,000. A second pineapple earring is planned to be released in the nearest future at Bergdorf Goodman, although the full set won’t be accessible in the United States. Despite the new unfavorable U.S. tariffs and economic instability, Melard believes that daring and unusual designs are very promising. The Olertis team also hopes to see the second custom earring and wishes more jewelry artists to use this kind of style.
In the old days, we used to design for queens. The only thing that changed is that now we’re designing for modern queens, that is, women who work and have normal lives. And in those lives, they sometimes strive to be distinctive. It’s pieces like these that help to show their true identity.
