Victoire de Castellane on the Gem Dior Collection

Victoire de Castellane on the Gem Dior Collection

When I asked Victoire de Castellane what it felt like to have celebrated 20 years at the helm of Dior’s jewellery and watch department, she implied, quite offhandedly, that it was a short time.

“I hope to be there for its 40th anniversary,” she said. But perhaps she’s right: 20 years can seem such a short time when the Dior archives are so rich and when there’s still so much to take inspiration from.

De Castellane had worked alongside Karl Lagerfeld for 14 years before she was tapped by Dior to develop and launch the brand’s jewellery division. “[Lagerfeld] taught me to work according to the identities of a house and to work seriously while having fun,” she says of her time learning under him.

Since de Castellane’s arrival at Dior, she’s found inspiration in all the house’s identities and developed themes that we now know and love: the garden, the grand balls and couture. If you’ve ever had the chance to read the beautiful narratives that are written for each of the collections, each is like a new chapter of the founder, Christian Dior’s, legacy. It’s an important element for de Castellane, who says, “I like to tell the stories of the identities of the house and transform them into jewellery.”

Victoire de Castellane

J’aime Gem Dior, et toi?

The latest chapter is Gem Dior, an original collection of seven watches and 11 pieces of jewellery that takes its name from the high-jewellery collection launched by the maison just two years ago. We all know Dior’s famous tagline “J’adior”, a play on the French j’adore. Gem, similarly, is a euphonious nod to j’aime, French for “I love”.

The style of the collection is something de Castellane calls “abstract-organic”, a mix of elements that can be found in both couture and in nature. “I wanted to move on to abstract, but it’s always an organic abstract that breaks with figurative creation,” she says. “I saw plates of tourmaline in octagonal and irregular shapes that inspired me for the watch dial. I’d also seen colour samples in the Dior archives that reminded me of the idea of strata.”

Fashion designer Christian Dior (standing with pointer) working on new collection with staff prior to showing. (Photo by Loomis Dean/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Page from Spring-Summer 1957 collection chart © Christian Dior

From this union of nature and couture, Gem Dior is distinctively nothing like you’ve seen from Dior before. The watches, with their unique case designs inspired by the natural shape of minerals, is particularly unique. As a completely new collection, it’s also a complete departure from the shape and form of the La D de Dior watches, which has been a mainstay in Dior’s collection for so long.

The new collection was a long time in the making, according to de Castellane. “I’d had the idea in mind for a long time and I was just waiting for the right moment. This is a new chapter for Dior jewellery and Dior watchmaking. Gem is an original watch, closer to a jewel, and doesn’t parasitise the La D de Dior watch.”

Gemstones are always the starting point for de Castellane. But whereas the La D de Dior watches had the dial set with a single precious stone, Gem Dior was about the colour of gemstones, and how they all came together. She loves gemstones of all kinds, so when I ask about her favourite gemstones to work with, she replies, “All of them together.”

Victoire de Castellane enjoys designing with all types of gemstones

The Gem Dior collection is exactly that – all the gemstones together. “For me, colour in jewellery is very important and I adore using all the stones, especially hard stones,” de Castellane says. “We might say that there’s also a coherence in my work in relation to the different collections. We can also discover families of stones, depending on the jewels and watches.”

The way the bracelets in the collection are designed is an absolute statement in creativity. De Castellane drew inspiration for it from the way in which Christian Dior pinned fabric swatches from his haute couture shows on to sheets of paper – ribbons of colour pinned against each other, a commotion of hues that’s chaotic yet elegant and sophisticated.

Forming the asymmetrical geometry of the pieces posed a technical challenge to the team at Dior. “It was necessary to work on the airiness, the structure and the comfort of the pieces in addition to the construction,” de Castellane says. “And, of course, to find the right stones.”

Gem Dior bracelets in yellow gold, rose gold and white gold with diamonds

Strips of precious stones placed on the Gem Dior bracelet

A new timepiece design

The focal point of the Gem Dior collection is perhaps the yellow-gold watch, with its octagonal case with cut-out sides set with turquoise and diamonds around an intense green malachite dial. The colourful affair extends to the bracelet, on which slices of the ornamental gems are brought together, much like the strata of sedimentary rock, an asymmetrical wave that’s designed to be worn on the wrist as if it’s an open cuff.

“I’ve used malachite, lapis lazuli, mother-of-pearl and cornaline. There’s some pink opal and tiger’s eye. I’ve selected stones and coloramas according to what I’ve found naturally. With the colour groups, I played on a multi-coloured effect, but I also considered the colour shadings,” says

de Castellane.

Designing the Gem Dior timepiece with a malachite dial

Six other versions of the Gem Dior watch are available: in steel and black mother-of-pearl, in pink gold and full diamond pavé, in gold and steel and lapis lazuli. The watches also come with an interchangeable black leather strap for a relatively more toned-down look.

The strata motif is carried over to the jewellery, with the highlight also being the coloured gemstone pieces. The yellow-gold ring and bracelet comes with deliberately misaligned links in gemstones of blues and greens – lapis lazuli, malachite and tourmaline – and a sprinkling of diamond, for a wonderfully cool-toned piece that has just the perfect touch of glamour.

In 4 Days CBP Officers Seize Counterfeit Items Worth Over $290K

ST. LOUIS–Since Friday, March 5, U.S. Customs and Border Protections officers at the port of St. Louis have seized a plethora of counterfeit items: six designer handbags, 21 designer outfits, 148 championship rings and 286 $100 bills. If the items were real, they would have been worth over $293,000.

On Friday, March 5, CBP officers seized two shipments that were arriving from Saudi Arabia and the Philippines. CBP officers inspected the first parcel, manifested as bag, to determine if the goods were admissible in accordance with CBP regulations. What officers found was one handbag bearing the Louis Vuitton Trademark. A CBP Import Specialist inspected the item and deemed it counterfeit. The shipment was headed to a residence in Springfield, and if the item was real, it would have had a MSRP of $2,700.

The other shipment seized on Friday was also inspected to determine if the items were admissible. Officers found multiple clothing items with logos such as Louis Vuitton and Channel on them. The shipment included 1 Dior Handbag, 4 Luis Vuitton Handbags, 6 Luis Vuitton Sleep Shirts, 3 Chanel Sleep Shirts, 5 Fendi Sleep Shirts, 4 Gucci Sleep Shirts and 3 Hermes Sweat Suits in the box. A CBP Import Specialist determined the items were counterfeit and infringed upon trademarks related to Christian Dior, Luis Vuitton, Fendi, Gucci and Hermes. The shipment was manifested as dresses and local bags and was heading to a residence in O’Fallon. If the items were real, they would have had a MSRP of $38,320.

On Monday officers detained a shipment coming from Hong Kong and headed to a residence in Overland. When officers inspected the shipment, they found 148 Championship Rings including NFL teams, the Lakers/Warriors from the NBA, teams from MLB & Notre Dame from the collegiate level. The rings were inspected by a CBP Import Specialist who deemed the items were counterfeit and infringed upon all corresponding trademarks from their respective teams. If the items were real, they would have had a MSRP of $223,500.

Additionally, on Monday officers seized a shipment from China that contained 286 counterfeit $100 bills. The items were manifested as bar props and were headed to a residence in Crystal City. The shipper made the description on the manifest vague intentionally to avoid detection.

All shipments were turned over to Homeland Security Investigations, the investigating arm of Department of Homeland Security, and investigating efforts are ongoing.

“These seizures highlight the typical things criminals try to import into the U.S. on a routine basis,” said Area Port Director-St. Louis. “Customs and Border Protection’s trade enforcement mission places a significant emphasis on intercepting illicit products that could harm American consumers, and we will continue to work with our consumer partners to identify and seize illicit goods.”

Sold in underground outlets and on third party e-commerce websites, counterfeit commodities fund smugglers and members of organized crime. Consumers often believe they are buying a genuine product but soon realize the item is substandard.

CBP Trade protects the intellectual property rights of American businesses through an aggressive Intellectual Property Rights enforcement program, safeguarding them from unfair competition and use for malicious intent while upholding American innovation and ingenuity. Suspected violations can be reported to CBP here.

Every year, CBP seizes millions of counterfeit goods from countries around the world as part of its mission to protect U.S. businesses and consumers. These goods include fake versions of popular products, such as smartphones and related accessories, electronics, apparel, shoes, cosmetics, and high-end luxury goods, as well as goods posing significant health and safety concerns, such as counterfeit pharmaceuticals, bicycle and motorcycle helmets, medical devices, supplements and other consumables. Sold online and in stores, counterfeit goods hurt the U.S. economy, cost Americans their jobs, threaten consumer health and safety, and fund criminal activity. Visit the National IPR Coordination Center for more information about IPR including counterfeiting and piracy.

Nationwide in Fiscal Year 2020, CBP seized 26,503 shipments containing goods that violated intellectual property rights. The total estimated value of the seized goods, had they been genuine, was nearly $1.3 billion. CBP has established an educational initiative to raise consumer awareness about the consequences and dangers that are often associated with the purchase of counterfeit and pirated goods. Information about the Truth Behind Counterfeits public awareness campaign can be found at https://www.cbp.gov/FakeGoodsRealDangers.

CBP’s border security mission is led at 328 ports of entry by CBP officers from the Office of Field Operations. Please visit CBP Ports of Entry to learn more about how CBP’s Office of Field Operations secures our nation’s borders. Learn more about CBP at www.CBP.gov.

Lebanese jewelry maker Danya Jabre on her fun, funky homegrown brand

DUBAI: Danya Jabre has reached a stage in her life where she can look back and tell herself that she has done it all. But she has now settled enjoying what she loves most.

A mother, grandmother, and entrepreneur, Jabre fled her native Lebanon following the Israeli invasion in 1982, making her way to England first, and since living in the US, Canada, and France.

Along with her background in graphic design, all of her experiences and travels feed in one way or another into her fun and quirky fine-jewelry brand, The Twist.

“All my life, I used to plan things. They start and they fall apart,” she tells Arab News. But The Twist, which she started in 2014, looks like it’s here to stay.

Jabre’s fascination with jewelry began at an early age. Her mother returned from a trip to Hong Kong with a book on precious stones and their properties, she says: “I was nine! Why would a nine-year-old be interested in reading about a stone?”

But her mother also brought back some rough stones, which instantly sparked a desire in Jabre to hold and examine them, particularly in natural light.

Another distinct memory she shares is of her time spent in London’s punk scene of the 1980s, buying zipper earrings from King’s Road — a center of youth culture that she found fascinating.

The Twist’s first designs, set in gold and silver, were inspired by emojis that had become widely popular through Blackberry Messenger chats — a thing of the past. It was this collection that started it all, which is why it’s still Jabre’s favorite. “It brought me good luck,” she says. “It’s also happy. When I wear it, it’s a conversation starter and I get a lot of reactions from people.”

Another eye-catching collection came along soon after. “Happiness Therapy” consists of humorous necklaces on which hang colorful studded ‘happy’ pills. “It was based on my kids telling me to take a chill pill,” she says. On her website she writes of this collection: “The ultimate lesson that I learned through life is that humor eases difficult situations and makes everything better.” Even the packaging stands out; it resembles a medicine box, and contains the description: “Fast-acting, long-lasting.”

More recently, Jabre has designed larger statement pieces that still convey that pop-culture feel, such as her unique Chinese fortune cookie necklace, which hides a secret paper message and her ‘Popcorn Love’ ring, topped with shiny Mikimoto pearls disguised as pieces of popcorn.

But beyond that layer of joy and creativity, there is one particular collection for which she has a soft spot. When the Lebanese protested en masse against the government in October 2019, she decided to create “Lebanon in my Heart” — which consists of a map of Lebanon, the iconic clinched fist of the revolution, and a cedar tree with the ‘nazar’ symbol (believed to ward off the evil eye).

“I was on the streets at 3 a.m., 4 a.m., from October to February, believing that we can (make) this change,” she recalls. “It’s a very emotional subject. I’m emotionally drained by Lebanon and I still haven’t recovered.”

Like many other small businesses, The Twist has been through a tough period because of the COVID-19 pandemic. And being based in crises-stricken Lebanon has only exacerbated that. But Jabre remains optimistic, and is planning to amp her company’s digital presence.

Needless to say, Jabre gets a kick out of creating her pieces, but it’s the connection that she has built with people that brings her the most joy.

“I love to be creative,” she says. “With my clients, the relationship is not about selling. I follow up with them, asking them how they like their pieces. Some of them end up telling me their life stories. I have a personal relationship with my clients and it’s very encouraging.”