The lion is Chanel’s most emphatic recurring motif — tied to Gabrielle Chanel‘s own zodiac sign, though its roots run deeper than astrology. After Boy Capel’s death in 1920, Chanel travelled to Venice for the first time and encountered the stone lions guarding St Mark’s Square. She took the lion as her symbol from that point on.
There are 21 pieces in the set, 13 unique creations that will not be replicated. The lion presides over each design, sometimes alone and sometimes paired with the camellia— an unusual pairing, but one that feels instinctively Chanel. The flower’s softness against the animal’s muscle and stare brings together two seemingly opposing sides of femininity. There is something distinctly Mademoiselle in that tension: the romantic and the formidable, the decorative and the powerful, coexisting in a single jewel.
Since its 2012 debut in Chanel’s high jewellery, the lion motif has evolved from a flat, Venetian mask-like form into the current 3D beast seen today—regal and proudly aware of the space it occupies. In this collection, the majestic animal appears in two distinct forms: front-facing, with its mane radiating outward in full sculptural volume, and in profile, rendered with the flattened precision of a bas-relief.
The profile form takes centre stage in the Lion Magistral necklace, a large scarf-style necklace and the only piece in the collection to use this format. Its wide neckline recalls the draped collars of ancient garments, while a succession of reclining lions stretches across the piece, each rendered in bas-relief. The design is transformable, where a concealed system within the motifs allows the necklace to be worn in different ways.
The Lion Millénaire necklace treats the profile more graphically—six lions mirrored against onyx and baguette diamonds, centred on a 6.12-ct octagonal Mozambique ruby. That cut is unusually demanding for a stone this size; colour and brilliance both must hold up under it. Smaller round rubies sit in channel settings that deepen their colour, while sixty made-to-measure baguette diamonds form the stelae beneath. Together, the black, white and red palette and the precision of the settings give the profile its distinctly Art Deco character.
Of course, the lion can also be seen in full frontal view, where its personality becomes more immediate. In the Lion Emblématique brooch for example, its head is sculpted in diamond-paved white gold, with a yellow-gold nose adding contrast to its intense gaze and prominent muzzle. The mane is the real feat of the design: openwork between the stones creates an impression of weightlessness, while its diamond-set edge gives it a rich, almost floating quality reminiscent of the Étoile brooch from Chanel’s 1932 Bijoux de Diamants collection.
A baguette-cut ruby provides a sharp counterpoint to the rounded yellow-gold cord, while pear, oval and cushion-cut rubies, sapphires, emeralds and turquoise beads add more variation. The cord itself is entirely handmade from two twisted gold wires, a detail first introduced in the 2017 Flying Cloud collection.
Finally, the piece that takes the lion into full three-dimensionality is the Lion Magistral ring, a spectacular three-finger ring that becomes a small sculpture once set on its pedestal. The lion reclines on an emerald stela, guarding a 3.34-ct Colombian emerald between its paws. Rose-gold tracing runs across its body, giving it an antique feel.
There is no single viewpoint from which to take it in. From the front, the diamond-set mane radiates around the head; from the side, the emerald stela introduces a strong horizontal line; and from above, the eye follows the body down towards its base. Turn it around and another view emerges, making the lion an object to be admired from all 360 degrees. Even the emeralds along the stela were individually selected and cut for colour harmony, while a single block of milky rock crystal forms the base.
