Beautiful appearance alone is not enough; interesting jewelry is more attractive. In this era full of creativity and imagination, designers boldly innovate, creating a series of jewelry pieces with hidden “mechanisms”.
They are no longer just simple decorations, but gifts that can bring endless surprises to everyone. Today, let’s take a look at these jewelry pieces with hidden “mechanisms” and feel the boundless imagination of designers!
In fact, making jewelry “move” is not a new concept. As early as the 18th century, the tremblant technique appeared, ingeniously giving static jewelry dynamic vitality. It also made diamonds visually more dazzling, which was the perfect “spotlight-stealing” accessory for ladies of that time, adding a unique charm to their glamorous looks.
Flowers and butterflies are common designs in tremblant jewelry. A small “spring” device is installed on the back of the jewelry. Whether gently swaying the head or elegantly turning around, each spring device will slightly tremble. The quivering of flower petals and leaves perfectly replicates the vitality of nature, especially in an era lit by candlelight, making the jewelry brilliantly eye-catching.
These lifelike jewelry pieces perfectly combine the dynamism of nature with the splendor of jewelry, allowing wearers to experience a wonderful interaction with their accessories.
Although tremblant jewelry is not very suitable for daily wear in modern life, it has inspired designers’ unlimited creativity, resulting in various types of “kinetic” jewelry. Today, we can see a wide variety of “kinetic” jewelry that incorporates sliding track structures and rotating mechanisms into their designs, making jewelry no longer just static decorations, but interactive works of art.
Messika’s Move series jewelry combines sliding track structures with jewelry, allowing diamonds to slide freely on the track. Rotating jewelry is probably familiar to many, with Piaget’s Possession series being the most famous. The ring tightly attached to the ring wall rotates slowly along the track, giving life to the stationary jewelry.
There’s also Chopard’s Happy series, which uses a bezel-setting technique to set each independent diamond on a gold disc seat similar in size to the diamond.
Designing mechanical devices that can “come to life” in jewelry not only enhances the aesthetic value of the pieces but also allows wearers to experience the joy of interacting with their jewelry in daily life.
Particularly famous are the designs of Salvador Dalí, the “interdisciplinary master,” who focused on the design and craftsmanship value of jewelry. To commemorate Queen Elizabeth’s coronation, he created “The Royal Heart.” This brooch has a precise power system installed inside, requiring no human intervention. With each step the wearer takes, the red heart beats once, just like a real heart.
Van Cleef & Arpels, known for pursuing dreamlike creations, also loves designing jewelry that can “come alive.” Designers integrate hidden mechanisms into the jewelry, as if performing magic, bringing endless surprises. Particularly famous is the Le Secret collection, where a butterfly’s flapping wings reveal a watch dial, or a rotating daisy petal conceals a beautiful blessing.
Recently, at the Watches and Wonders Geneva 2024 exhibition, Van Cleef & Arpels unveiled two new automaton pieces: the Bouton d’or Automaton and Apparition des Baie, which truly captivated the audience.
It’s worth noting that since 2017, Van Cleef & Arpels has been perfectly combining automata with jewelry and watchmaking craftsmanship, breathing new life into the ancient art of mechanical automata. These automaton pieces are like stages narrating moving stories, allowing people to more intuitively experience the unique romance of mechanical devices.
Surprisingly, jewelry can also offer the excitement of opening a mystery box. Want to explore the designer’s clever ideas? Pendant box jewelry can fill you with anticipation and surprise every time you open it.
The most famous pendant box jewelry undoubtedly belongs to the Fabergé eggs. This brand, which was once the official jeweler to the Russian Tsars, has been producing jeweled egg pendants for young consumers annually since its inception, and continues to launch new designs every year to this day.
These eggs are not just pieces of jewelry; they are miniature works of art. Meticulously crafted from gold, diamonds, and various precious stones, the interior of each egg serves as a canvas for designers to showcase their skills.
Upon opening an egg, you might discover an exquisite miniature portrait with lifelike figures that seem to be telling an ancient story. Or you might find a small, intricately designed piece of jewelry that complements the egg’s exterior perfectly. These hidden surprises not only add to the egg’s mystique but also provide wearers with new discoveries and experiences as they wear and admire the piece.
You may have heard of “poison rings,” also known as “compartment rings.” These rings are typically very intricate in design, with a body that can be opened or rotated to reveal an internal space for concealing various items. Historically, these rings were used to carry poison, hence the name “poison ring.”
(Source: Gemological Institute of America (GIA))
However, beyond this dark historical context, poison rings were often used to carry personal items such as balms or hair, or as carriers for religious relics, mottos, and mementos of mourning.
The design of these rings exemplifies the perfect combination of jewelry’s practicality and artistry: they can serve as decorative pieces showcasing the wearer’s taste and style, while also functioning as practical items carrying the wearer’s emotions and memories.
At the same time, poison rings reflect humanity’s complex relationship with jewelry, symbolizing both beauty and potential danger.
Have you ever felt that no matter how many clothes are in your wardrobe or how many accessories are in your jewelry box, there’s always room for one more piece? In such cases, detachable multi-use jewelry offers a highly cost-effective solution.
These pieces can be disassembled into multiple independent parts according to wearing needs, allowing for free changes in appearance and function, while also being reassembled into one or more complete products.
In fact, as early as the Victorian era, pendants could be converted into brooches, and necklaces could be layered into headdresses or transformed into bracelets. The unique detachable craftsmanship imbues sparkling high jewelry with creativity and flexibility, allowing wearers to freely combine and transform pieces according to personal preferences and occasions.
Among royal jewelry, tiaras are particularly adept at “transformation.” Of the tiaras worn by Queen Elizabeth II, the Vladimir Tiara has had a very high appearance rate. This crown was originally a wedding gift to Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia and was later purchased and modified by Queen Mary.
Whether paired with pearl pendants, emeralds, or diamond floral hoops, it can display different styles and qualities. The versatility of this tiara allows it to perfectly fit the atmosphere of various occasions, becoming the focal point whether at solemn state events or elegant dinners.
When it comes to creating jewelry that can “transform,” Van Cleef & Arpels has always been far ahead. The Passe-Partout necklace, with its extendable chain as the main body and detachable gemstone brooches, can transform into a bracelet or sash by extending or shortening the metal chain.
At the request of the Duchess of Windsor, Van Cleef & Arpels, after years of research, introduced the stunning Zip necklace. When unzipped, it can be worn as a necklace; when zipped up, it becomes an exquisite bracelet. Thanks to its adjustability and eye-catching design, the Zip necklace became an instant hit upon its release, becoming an iconic piece for Van Cleef & Arpels.
Louis Vuitton also has its own approach in this area. The Le Mythe necklace from the Bravery high jewelry collection appears to be three different necklaces combined, but in reality, it can be transformed into 12 different wearing styles. Wearers can freely mix and match according to their mood, occasion, and attire, allowing them to showcase their unique charm at different moments.
These magical pieces of jewelry undoubtedly bring unexpected effects and experiences to their wearers. They are not just decorative items, but also carriers of art and emotion.
From the coexistence of charm and fun in dynamic jewelry, to the exploration and anticipation of jewelry “mystery boxes,” to the versatility of transformable high jewelry, these pieces showcase the endless creativity and ingenuity of designers.
Do you know of any other jewelry pieces with hidden “mechanisms”? We’d love to hear about them!
Alive with Glamour: Discover the Mesmerizing World of Kinetic Jewelry
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