An unheated sapphire over 20 cts is exceedingly rare today, and even more so at Chanel’s high standards. The Imprimé Lion necklace features exactly such a gem: a 20.66 ct octagonal Sri Lankan sapphire with a deep, even, and exceptionally clear blue hue.
The stone is part of what distinguishes the necklace. Among the 85 pieces in Signes & Symboles, this is the only creation that uniquely integrates all four of Chanel’s symbols—the Lion, Camellia, Comet, and Sun—into a single design. It required 1,800 hours of craftsmanship in the Chanel workshop to create.
The piece belongs to Les Imprimés, a suite in which these symbols are arranged in rhythmic, repeating compositions across plastron and bandeau necklaces, like motifs on a printed textile. No single emblem dominates; the Lion, Camellia, Comet and Sun exist in quiet harmony, recalling the way these talismans lived together in Mademoiselle Chanel’s imagination.
Here, however, the Lion reigns at the centre. The Sun, Comet and Camellia are linked in a continuous mesh around it. More than hallmarks of the Chanel vocabulary, each carries a symbolism that has long resonated beyond the house: the Sun as a source of vitality and renewal, the Comet as a guide towards possibility, the Camellia as an emblem of quiet resilience and enduring beauty, and the Lion as a symbol of courage and self-possession. Together, they transform the necklace from a composition of house codes into one that speaks a more universal language.
The masterpiece offers three unique views, all converging at the necklace’s centre. Seen vertically, it forms a commanding V-shape, its symmetry drawing the eye towards the central sapphire. From the horizontal perspective, emerald-cut diamonds sharpen the geometry, while the Lion’s mane radiates outward from the centre, giving the composition its sculptural brilliance.
Fil-couteau settings create an impression of effortless movement, allowing light to dance around the gemstones as the necklace shifts with the wearer. Even its fastening has been designed to disappear: a concealed twist clasp is integrated within the square neckline, maintaining the purity of the silhouette so that the mechanics remain entirely unseen.
The metalwork alternates between white and rose gold. The former is reserved for the visible settings that maximise the brilliance of the gemstones while the latter performs a dual role. Hidden within the articulated framework, it gives the necklace its fluidity; used for the sapphire’s prongs and the fil-couteau settings at the reverse, its warmer tone subtly recalls the patina of antique jewellery. In addition, because rose gold requires no rhodium plating, it offers the flexibility the necklace needs to contour naturally to the body while remaining discreetly concealed from view.
Five diamond cuts—round brilliant, oval, emerald, baguette and cut-cornered triangle—appear throughout the necklace, each calibrated to create perfect symmetry and visual harmony. Rather than selecting stones to fit an existing composition, many were cut to measure specifically for the design, a painstaking process made even more demanding by the minute dimensions of certain elements.
Oval-cut diamonds form the camellia’s petals, while round brilliant-cut stones illuminate its centre and recur as individual motifs. Emerald-cut diamonds introduce a crisp geometric counterpoint, their step-cut facets echoed by both the central sapphire and the necklace’s 3.03-ct D-FL cornered triangle diamond. With its unusually generous proportions, the bespoke stone provides a striking conclusion to the composition while reinforcing the dialogue between the collection’s geometric forms.
