The camellia embarked on its first crusade in the 18th century and enraptured a very influential woman indeed: Empress Josephine of France. Charmed by the plant’s perfect symmetry, she made it into a print for garments and the decorative arts alike. The following century, “La Dame aux Camélias” by Alexandre Dumas painted a vivid picture of a simple and delicate woman in its own right.
In 1923, Coco Chanel took hold of this flower and added notions of friendship, elegance, and harmony to its reputation to cover women in self-affirmed purity. Bringing us to the discovery of a marvelous garden, the flower invaded hats, suits, tweed jackets, and the brand’s jewelry. Rereleases would soon follow, adorning woman-bouquets with an androgynous seduction, reminiscent of men with a lone camellia as their boutonniere. Today, Chanel is offering what is “currently the most sought after collection”. Its particularity resides in the voluptuous curves it lends to white or black ceramic rings, mounted on diamonds with white gold bases. With rings, necklaces, earrings, and headwear, the Camélia Galbé collection by Chanel has everything it takes to make feminine beauty blossom.
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