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GUCCI is launching a fine jewellery collection based on a design originally created in the 1960s, and Mappin & Webb has the exclusives as Laura McCreddie-Doak finds out.
On a warm Tuesday afternoon, Mappin & Webb is a cool, calm contrast to the bustle of Regent’s Street. The doors close and the sounds of squabbling children, exasperated parents, and over-enthusiastic teenagers disappear. It is the perfect place to take a moment and, if you’re lucky, have Stephanie Samuels, the flagship sales floor executive, talk you through the new Gucci fine jewellery collection, even offering style tips based on your personal sartorial preferences.
"Every client’s different,” Stephanie says. “In terms of customer service, we’re not pushing a sale but getting a customer to trust us. When we have open conversations, clients are more open. I also like to let a client breathe and browse before asking what they like.” That ability to browse is one of the reasons branded jewellery, such as GUCCI, is displayed both upstairs and, in the quieter, more exclusive downstairs area. It is here that the new Gucci Flora collection can be tried on, for which Mappin & Webb has exclusivity on four of the pieces in the collection – they will only be available here and in GUCCI monobrand boutiques.
However, the inspiration for this collection doesn’t have its roots in nature but in the genius of the illustrator, painter, and set designer Vittorio Accornero de Testa, who worked with the House from 1960-1981. Charged by Rodolfo Gucci (played with delicious aplomb by Jeremy Irons in Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci) to create an entirely new pattern for a silk scarf, he created this wearable garden.
The design has an almost “botanical illustration” realness to it. Nine bouquets of flowers are arranged around the scarf, riotously colourful and comprising lilies, poppies, cornflowers, tulips, ranunculus, anemones, and irises. Scattered in amongst the blooms are butterflies, bees, and other insects. For GUCCI, which has its roots in Florence, the designer was inspired by the dress worn by the nymph Flora in La Primavera and The Birth of Venus, both painted by the Florentine artist, Botticelli. It is a joyful, vibrant, print that was out of step with the more utilitarian horse-bits associated with the brand at the time. Flora, which cleverly married pastoral prettiness with urbane sophistication, was an instant hit. It became the print on which GUCCI based its dresses, handbags, and jewellery, before the equestrian motif once again took over. It was revived in 2005 by former creative director Frida Giannini and her successor, director Alessandro Michele, has reinterpreted it as a delicately feminine fine-jewellery collection.
Rather than replicate Accornero’s designs, GUCCI has interpreted the romantic spirit of the pattern, translating its whimsical beauty into 18-ct rose and yellow gold pieces set with diamonds. There are dainty bracelets and necklaces adorned with diamond-set flowers, with the witty addition of interlocking Gs at intervals along the chain – a very GUCCI nod to the celebrated logo-centric collections of the past. There are bolder designs too – a yellow-gold ring and bracelet made from a band of leaves, with a diamond-set GG at their centre, beautifully made so the bands are soft and articulated. The latter, along with a diamond-set flower pendant and floral drop earrings also in diamond, are exclusive to Mappin & Webb – a sign of The Watches of Switzerland Group’s close relationship with the luxury Italian House.
It is a collection of contrasts – delicate yet decadent, whimsical but also with a subtle power. It is also a masterclass in GUCCI style.
Explore the Gucci Flora collection here at Mappin & Webb online or visit us in store at one of our showrooms where our jewellery experts will be delighted to help you.
Author Credit: Laura McCreddie-Doak has been writing about jewellery and watches for over a decade. She is a regular contributor to the likes of Times LUXX, Wired, The Telegraph, and Evening Standard, as well as online publications such as Ape to Gentleman.
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