MIKIMOTO Léclat Stellaire Head Jewelry. Photograph courtesy of Mikimoto.
Presented during Paris Haute Couture Week, Mikimoto launches a collection that explores the many expressions of light.
Nature was one of Kokichi Mikimoto’s earliest inspirations. Long before he became the first person to cultivate semi-spherical pearls, he found ideas in the world around him. More than a century later, that relationship continues through the Maison’s high jewelry collections such as Splash, which captures the moment water breaks against a surface, while Wild and Wonderful transforms animals found across continents into intricate pieces of jewelry.
In Praise to the Sea, 50 one-of-a-kind pieces celebrate oceans and marine life with suites named after sea creatures, and last year’s Les Pétales interprets rose petals caught in motion through a variety of gemstones. This season, that fascination extends beyond Earth, shifting its gaze as Mikimoto turns upward.
The newest collection, L’éclat (French for “ray of light”), explores light as it travels across galaxies. Presented during Paris Haute Couture Week at Hôtel d’Évreux in Place Vendôme, the collection comprises more than 60 pieces, including headpieces, necklaces, earrings, rings, and brooches arranged around celestial bursts of light. The exhibit was attended by actors Michelle Yeoh, Keiko Kitagawa, James Jirayu, and Ken Watanabe, Number_i’s Yuta Jinguji, and Lady Amelia Windsor.
Several pieces interpret different moments of that journey. In L’éclat Originel, layers of Akoya and White South Sea mother-of-pearls intersect through a sculptural composition, with diamonds mimicking radiance emanating from the White South Sea pearl placed at the center of the piece. The L’éclat Solaire explores the changing colors of light. White pearls sit alongside tourmalines, emeralds, sapphires, and diamonds, allowing shifting green and blue tones to emerge across the necklace and décolletage.
The celestial theme extends across the rest of the collection. Constellation-inspired brooches trace the trail of meteors across the night sky, designed to be worn individually or grouped across the chest. L’éclat Stellaire, a headpiece composed of Akoya and White South Sea cultured pearls with diamonds, follows the curve of the head as an interpretation of a galaxy. Meanwhile, L’éclat Éternel translates the diffusion of light through geometric arrangements of pearls and diamonds, while L’éclat Majestueux reimagines a stream of light emerging from the darkness of space through a shoulder brooch centered around aquamarine.
For more information, visit Mikimoto’s official website.