Resetting The Archive

Top maisons are revisiting their roots and recasting iconic jewellery in brand new ways.

- Jill Newman and Paige Reddinger

FOR JEWELLERY HOUSES with long histories, digging through the archives and paying homage to established icons is a perennial practice. These reinterpretations are done with such frequency that connoisseurs and enthusiasts alike can easily match legendary motifs—Serpenti, Anchor Chain, Bird on a Rock—to the brands that created them (for the uninitiated, that would be Bulgari, Hermès and Tiffany & Co., respectively). But recently, the industry’s biggest names haven’t just tweaked decades-old designs but instead have looked to reinvent them.

At Bulgari, the snake-shaped Serpenti—applied to everything from chokers to watches—celebrated its 75th anniversary last year. The latest iteration eliminates the head and tail, allowing the eye to focus on the serpent’s body in a new necklace, which creates a sleek, slithering form around the neck, adorned with onyx, emeralds and diamonds.