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Rings in diamonds, lacquer and coloured stones from the Milly Carnivora collection by Christian Dior

Dior Joaillerie

Jewels from the Milly Carnivora collection are a feast for the eyes

There is no garden on this earth that is as wild, colourful and electric as the one that Victoire de Castellane has dreamed up for Christian Dior.

The Milly Carnivora collection of fine jewelry now in stores is inspired by the carnivorous plants that grow on Belladone Island, an invention of the fanciful creative director of Dior Joaillerie. The 37 pieces in free-cut diamonds, lacquer and coloured stones are neon-coloured and wildly formed, with lashings of purple, green and yellow. A hoop earring features a pink and blue sapphire snail perched on twisted green lacquer vines. One ring seems to have a ladybug munching on diamonds as it is about to be swallowed by a sapphire-studded pod. Another has a blue lacquered beetle crawling towards a giant citrine bloom while a rubellite dew drop hangs from a diamond leaf.

But such whimsy doesn’t come easy. At DiorJoaillerie.com, a time-elapsed video condenses the four-month process of making a Milly Carnivora ring into three minutes. Scenes of daily Parisian life are intercut with close-up images of hands carving a wax mold, polishing the metal, and setting the stones. The lacquer process is obscured with the words “Top Secret.”

The Milly Carnivora collection was unveiled at the Biennale des Antiquaires in Paris in September. In keeping with de Castellane’s whimsical spirit, the collection was presented in a maternity ward setting with each piece nestled in an incubator like a newborn. They are her babies, after all.