Gabrielle Chanel was born on August 19th, the end of the summer and the celebration of the harvest festival. For Gabrielle Chanel’s father, wheat symbolised all that was good and wholesome. He often called it “my good wheat,” and that expression resounded with her all her life. A symbol of renewed prosperity and abundance, wheat became one of her lucky symbols.

Launched at Fall 2016 Paris Haute Couture week, the Chanel High Jewelry collection Les Blés de Chanel celebrates for the first time this fundamental element of Gabrielle Chanel’s world, and follows the life cycle of wheat with 62 high jewelry pieces.

The first fruit of the harvest are represented perfectly in the sets “Premiers Brins”, Brins de Printemps” and “Brins de Diamants”. The tourmalines, peridots and aquamarines show off the first green shoots and ears of wheat, playing off light from diamonds. The sun-ripened wheat ears are displayed in the “Epi d’Eté”, “Epi Vendôme”, “Epi Solaire”, “L’Epi and “Cascade d’Epi”. The final set of the collection, which depicts the harvest, are designs in precious stones ranging from diamonds to yellow sapphires. Called “Fête des Moissons” the set captures the crowns of wheat during the harvest.

The wheat theme extends to a host of styles in the high jewelry collection, including sets “Champ de Blé,” “Impression de Blé,” “Blé Infini” and “Légende de Blé.” These see diamonds set against yellow or white gold. The “Légende de Blé” 18k white gold necklace, for example, is set with a 5-carat marquise-cut diamond, 12 marquise-cut diamonds and 839 brilliant-cut diamonds.