Founding Years (1946 – 1957)
Christian Dior was a big believer in jewellery being an integral part of a complete outfit. With the “New Look” collection in 1947, Dior has been credited with redefining women’s fashion in the post-war period. He considered the entire outfit within his couture collections, and jewellery was an important component. Starting in the late 1940s, Dior started to design jewellery to go along with his couture collections. Jewellery to go along with the ready-to-wear collections soon followed. Jewellery from these early collections, such as “New Look”, which were designed by Christian Dior himself (or his early protegees) are highly sought after by collectors.
Golden Age of Dior Costume Jewellery (1950s-1960s)
The early days of Dior jewellery manufacturing are a who’s who of costume jeweller. makers. Starting with Josette Gripoix, they also collaborated with Robert Goosens, Roger Jean-Pierre, Mitchell Maer, Scemama, Schreiner and Kramer. Any pieces from this era are highly sought after by collectors. We have seen them realise extraordinary prices at auction. Matching sets or complete jewellery suites from this period are incredibly rare and collectable.
Perhaps the best-known Dior partner was the company Henkel & Grosse. More commonly referred to as just Grosse. They started working with Dior in 1955 and for the next fifty years were responsible for the production of Christian Dior Bijoux, along with their own ranges.
The collaboration with Manfred Swarovski (grandson of Swarovski founder Daniel) in 1950 shone a light on both Swarovski and Dior jewellery. Christian Dior tasked Swarovski to create a crystal that reminded him of the mirrors and candelabra of the Palace of Versailles. With this brief in mind, Manfred Swarovski created the “Aurore Boréale”, a Swarovski crystal with an iridescent coating to mimic the rainbow or flashes of “fire” seen both in the reflections of the hall of mirrors and diamonds. The subsequent jewellery designed by Francis Winter for Dior followed the theme of Louis XVI’s decadence and replicated 18th-century parures. When Christian Dior died in 1957, the fashion house he’d founded continued. With the likes of Yves Saint Laurent and Marc Bohan, the brand remained at the forefront of fashion jewellery. The creative directors continued to reflect Dior’s values. The jewellery released still often reflected the couture designs.
Later Vintage and Contemporary Fashion Jewellery (1980s – 2000s)
Moving towards the 80s and 90s, there was a shift towards incorporating the logo and recognisable motifs into the main design. Modern Christian Dior costume jewellery continues to embody the brand’s signature elegance, sophistication, and innovation while embracing contemporary design trends and materials. The motifs often directly reflect motifs found within their handbag designs as well as the couture collections and remain coveted by collectors
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