Boucheron’s Histoire de Style 2025 – Untamed Nature: A high jewellery collection rooted in the wild

Nature has long been Boucheron’s greatest muse, and nowhere is this more vividly expressed than in its latest high jewellery collection, Histoire de Style 2025 – Untamed Nature. Divided into two chapters, Plants and Animals, it captures the raw elegance of the natural world through 28 diamond-set pieces in white gold that honour maison founder Frederic Boucheron’s singular vision. Rooted in the late 19th-century movement that embraced organic and asymmetrical forms, this gender-neutral collection reflects his deep fascination with nature’s unfettered splendour. Under the helm of creative director Claire Choisne, this legacy of poetic realism continues, reinterpreting wildlife and botanical wonders with striking ingenuity and craftsmanship.

While Frederic Boucheron’s contemporaries sought inspiration from noble flora and fauna, he was drawn to unassuming or overlooked wildlife. He saw beauty in ivy vines creeping along the Palais-Royal arcades, where he established his first boutique in 1858; in the quiet resilience of wild thistles; and the intricate patterns of dragonflies and beetles. The creative visionary’s obsession with realism led him to amass a library of over 600 books on botany, entomology, and zoology, meticulously studying scientific illustrations to ensure his creations captured nature’s most delicate imperfections.

Boucheron employs cutting-edge techniques to bring nature to life with astonishing realism. Precious metals are sculpted with an artist’s touch, achieving textures that mimic the veins of a leaf or the gossamer transparency of an insect’s wing. Another defining feature of Untamed Nature is its remarkable versatility, where a choker effortlessly transforms into a delicate bracelet, and a brooch seamlessly converts into an ear cuff. These ingeniously designed multi-wear creations invite wearers to interact with their jewels in a deeply personal way, redefining how high jewellery integrates into modern life.

In an era increasingly disconnected from the natural world, Untamed Nature feels like a quiet act of rebellion – it embraces the organic imperfections of nature, where leaves wither, petals curl, and stems bend in the wind. By celebrating these raw elements, the collection serves as a poignant reminder that true beauty lies not in flawless order, but in the wild, unrestrained energy of the natural world. Here, we explore its pieces in all their untamed glory.

PLANTS: A CELEBRATION OF WILD BOTANY

Airelles (Lingonberries)

A symbol of resilience, lingonberries thrive in harsh environments, from the Arctic tundra to alpine slopes. Here, the hardy plant is reborn as an articulated necklace, where the stems can be detached to form a separate cascading brooch or multiple smaller pins. Taking 3,600 hours to complete, the creation has 84 hand-crafted, snow-set leaves with exquisite openwork that echo the natural movement of vines. Boucheron’s artisans also employed a cut-down setting technique, where pavé diamonds rest on a delicate gold framework.

Avoine (Oats)

A symbol of fertility and wealth, oat grass finds new life as exquisite hair jewels that draw from a 1906 tiara featuring oat spikelets. Resembling delicate wind-blown stems that sway fluidly with the slightest motion, thanks to a meticulous system of articulations, these pieces also double up as brooches.

Chardon (Thistle)

Inspired by an 1878 archival brooch, the thistle is depicted in a striking necklace and transformable brooch set. Although the plant’s sharp exterior suggests austerity, artisans used computer-aided design (CAD) to replicate the thistle’s serrated edges and three-dimensional depth without sacrificing comfort for the wearer. A delicate openwork technique on the reverse side lends an organic effect, while enhancing lightness and luminosity.

Cyclamen

Symbolising enduring affection, the cyclamen is reimagined in an asymmetrical pair of earrings and a matching ring. Each unfurling petal is set with rose-cut diamonds, a feat of precision that required close collaboration between jewellers and gem-setters. The earrings feature a fluid six-petaled bloom on one side, counterbalanced by a diamond pavé leaf stud on the other.

Fleur de Carotte (Carrot Flower)

The only non-archival inspiration introduced to Boucheron’s repertoire by Choisne, the carrot flower is a piece of jewellery that can be worn as a brooch or hair jewel. Its fluffy appearance posed a technical challenge as each tiny bloom had to be painstakingly positioned to replicate the cluster’s organic symmetry. The use of three distinct diamond settings creates a mesmerising play of light, highlighting the maison’s prowess in illusionary craftsmanship.

Fuchsia

This perennial plant with bell-like flowers represents the ardour of the heart. The set features delicate fuchsia blossoms rendered as pendant earrings and a hair jewel that doubles as a brooch. Openwork leaves create an illusion of lightness, while articulated pistils sway with movement to mirror the flower’s natural dance in a light breeze.

Laurier (Laurel)

Boucheron breathes new life into its archival laurel motif with pendant earrings that pay tribute to the plant’s natural lightness. Each piece weighs just 19g, thanks to a meticulously crafted ultra-slender structure. Oval and troidia-cut diamonds mimic laurel berries, while delicate openwork enhances their ethereal quality. The versatile earrings can be worn in three lengths and transform into two brooches.

Lierre (Ivy)

Frederic Boucheron’s favourite plant is reinterpreted as a shape-shifting masterpiece here. A product of 1,060 hours of labour, the creation winds gracefully around the arm as a bracelet or spreads across the chest in a long cascading brooch. Its branches cleverly detach to transform into a necklace, hair jewels, or even smaller brooches. The delicately sculpted leaves are set on different sized tremblers to create lifelike movement. Crafted without tremblers, the bracelet achieves supple flexibility through its masterfully articulated links.

Mauve (Mallow)

The perennial flower is realised on a pair of asymmetrical earrings and supple bracelet. Each petal and leaf are first sculpted in wax to capture their natural curves before being openworked in a tracery pattern that recreates delicate veining. The earrings, composed of multiple parts, feature a clever clip system that allows them to be fastened to any part of the ear. The bracelet, which took 1,210 hours to complete, is crafted with such suppleness that it can be laid completely flat – a testament to the expertise of Boucheron’s artisans.

Roseau (Reed)

The maison depicts the reed’s flowering in a suite comprising a necklace, bracelet, brooch, and hair jewel. To replicate the moment when the reed's feathery panicles open and its leaves unfurl, each one of its elements is sculpted in wax to ensure every panicle is unique. Oval diamonds at the tips of reed stems evoke glistening dewdrops at dawn, adding striking realism. A diamond snow-setting on the leaves adds brilliance – a highly intricate process that enhances texture and luminosity.

Rosier (Rose Bush)

Choisne draws inspiration from the untamed beauty of the rose bush instead of its flower, crafting a suite composed of a Question Mark necklace, two rings, another necklace, and earrings. Capturing the natural curl of its leaves, Boucheron's artisans sculpted nearly 70 unique ones across the set to ensure a lifelike effect. The Question Mark necklace features an asymmetrical arrangement of leaves subtly veined in white gold and is finished with a detachable 6.01-carat pear-shaped diamond drop.

INSECTS: AN ODE TO NATURE’S SMALL WONDERS

Bourdon (Bumblebee)

Boucheron artisans sculpted the bumblebee’s body in white gold, while its gossamer-thin wings – made from rock crystal and mother-of-pearl – shimmer with iridescent transparency. Engraved veining and delicate gold-and-black lacquer edging add to their lifelike realism, as if poised for flight. Onyx stripes heighten the naturalistic effect, while a hidden runner mechanism beneath the abdomen allows the bee to transition between a brooch and a two-finger ring.

Lucane (Stag Beetle)

Europe’s largest beetle takes form as a full diamond pave-set creation that can be worn two ways. Black lacquer accentuates the detailing, while a hidden mechanism transforms the piece from a brooch into a two-finger ring with a gentle pinch of the beetle’s antennae.

Papillon de Nuit (Moth)

The maison’s artisans showcase their exceptional savoir-faire with this masterpiece, which is both a brooch and hair jewel. Crafted from white and grey mother-of-pearl, the veining on each of the moth’s delicate wings is hand-engraved and accentuated with black lacquer dots and baguette-cut diamonds.

Scarabee Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros Beetle)

An ancient symbol of good fortune, the rhinoceros beetle is reimagined on a brooch that converts into a two-finger ring with a single gesture. Like the bumblebee, rock crystal and black lacquer recreate the veining of its translucent wings, which can even move delicately.

Trio of Insects (Bee, Ladybug, and Fly)

Choisne places the bee on the ear, while two other insects rest on hair or clothing with flexible spiral stems. Their wings combine rock crystal and mother-of-pearl for luminous transparency, with laser-engraved veining for realism. To capture nature’s artistry, inlaid onyx bands depict the bee's stripes, while black lacquer mimics the ladybug's spots and detailing on the fly.

Boucheron’s high jewellery creations and pieces from its Icon collections can be viewed at Boucheron The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, L1-56 Bay Level.