If you’re strolling through central Paris, you’ll be struck by a dazzling sight: Place Vendôme has been planted with a field of wheat. The reason why? Chanel has launched a brand new, wheat-inspired high jewelry collection, now presented at the Ritz Paris, which Coco Chanel considered her home. (Street artist Gad Weil was commissioned to do the wheat installation.) As reported by Vogue, “the designer was particularly fond of sheaves of wheat—not only because they’re a universal symbol for prosperity, but because they harked back to her peasant roots and, specifically, harvest time, which coincided with her birth date, August 19.”
The Ritz Paris has been the talk of the town since its reopening last month, and the freshly revamped Coco Chanel Suite is now showcasing the new Chanel jewelry collection. To quote Vogue: “The major statement is the Fête des Moissons, a necklace anchored by an octagonal 25-carat fancy intense yellow diamond (a nod to the shape of the Place Vendôme), with a further 95-plus carats of multicolored diamonds in various cuts comprising the wheat stalks—more than 1,200 diamonds and 120 carats in all.”
Photo of L'Espadon, courtesy of the Ritz Paris © Adrien Dirand