THE SPIRIT
I- THE TRAVELLER BEYOND TIME
In a world where everything moves so fast, who wouldn't want to take the time to admire beautiful things ? No matter where you are, you can never see the world as you would from a hot air balloon. This woman, driven by a love for beauty, has chosen a different path, to go beyond what could be, to master every second life gives her. This woman doesn't seek refuge in the past to escape the harshness of the present. She has simply chosen to live in her own time, consisting of everything that, for her, has defined the beauty of each era. For example, a residence from every grand century to live in. She combines the old and the new because, for her, what matters is beauty, especially that of past centuries.
The choice to use a hot air balloon as a means of transport made perfect sense. As invented in the late 18th century, and so charming. This balloon that she heats and guides with the wind and her desires gives her great freedom. She can fly, but more importantly, take the time to live outside of time. Where no one can disturb her while exploring the vastness of her properties. Thus, enjoying the landscapes of the English and Scottish countryside that she loves so much but also allowing her to travel from one end to the other on her own. With a hot air balloon, one can do anything. Read, sing with the birds, and live.
There, she finds comfort and fulfillment in a world where only beauty matters. She isn't chasing after innovations, the latest car, or the trendiest necklace. No, what she wants is to truly live. What she wants is emotion. A woman who loves life, who loves playing with codes and all the eras that made her dream as a child. One day dressing as a Victorian widow and the next as an adventurous woman during the gilded age. As wealth and heavy noble titles weigh on her shoulders, what she wants is to have fun, laugh at everything, and explore the best of each century.
So, she travels in mountains, in oceans. She loses herself in the novels of Jane Austen as a woman from the late 19th century might have done. That era is her favorite because for her, at that time everything was in a state of excitement. The arts were renewing, and a new perspective on the past was emerging, more respectful and aware of the beauty and importance of what came before. An era when traveling with hot air balloons became a norm.
She's a living painting, and so is her way of living.
A quest for discovery, for exploration through archaeology, which she greatly appreciates. Every day, they wanted to know more, and they too immersed themselves in distant eras like she does.
She lives in a secluded manor in England, has breakfast in bed surrounded by her French furniture, does her toilette, and only applies Chanel makeup after bathing in donkey milk like Cleopatra. Sometimes she dresses in light fabrics but always with style and attention to the smallest details (every day in evening gowns because, for her, life is a celebration, a party that you need to attend well dressed. Like this hot air balloon, so intellectual, unpredictable, and sensitive, just like her. For her, life is a game, a gem, a land to conquer, a play to stage.
Even though her chests overflow with family jewels, her preference is for auctions, acquiring jewelry that has a life beyond hers, that has experienced another time. She enjoys imagining who proudly wore them, to which soirées. That's her happiness. She's an adventurer; her style, her jewelry, it's her. She takes the best from all eras and makes them converse.
A Mesopotamian ring with Victorian earrings, for example. Like the choice of this hot air balloon, which, through its slowness, makes her aware of her fullness. She can take the time to fly and to admire diamonds through the light of a candle.
And so, that is why I’ve chosen these two jewelry pieces that would magnificently adorn her. First, a necklace that she might have encountered in a Parisian maison de vente. A piece that dates back to the 1920s. An articulated choker in both platinum and gold. Adorned with scrolls resembling twisted ribbons and garlands of flowers and leaves. The main motif consists of two squares framing two flowers extended by an articulated garland, holding a pendant diamond. This jewel is embellished with numerous diamonds, with the smaller ones being rose-cut in both bezel and bead settings, while the main ones are old-cut. The centrally claw-set diamond weighs approximately 0.7 carats. But the reason for this choice might just have been the antique brown leather case that comes with it, as she is found of exquisite écrins.
The second piece might have been bought in Paris as well, a city she cherishes because it is full of treasures. A platinum brooch that she could have discovered at an antique market during a day in Saint-Ouen. It's the signature style of this brooch that captivates her. René Boivin, a man she is certain would have been a close friend. One of the most beautiful and delicate jewelers of the last century. A brooch that, with its roundness and the gradual enlargement of its three circles, would have also reminded her of her beloved hot air balloon. Designed as three rows of circles pavé-set with old European, single, and rose-cut diamonds. Chic and timeless just like she is.
But among all these stones, all these wonders, in her eyes, the most precious jewel might be her hot air balloon.
