Rubies of the deepest red, in a design of classical proportion

Some designs belong to a particular moment. Others are recognized by every generation that encounters them. The Aveline, a necklace and earrings in Mozambique rubies and natural diamonds, belongs to the second: classical in proportion, exacting in its stones, and made to be worn as easily as it is kept.

The King of Gems

Long before it was set in gold, the ruby carried a title. In Sanskrit it was called ratnaraj, the king of precious stones. In the Navaratna, the nine gems of Indian tradition, the ruby takes the place of the sun at the centre, with the other eight arranged around it. Its English name comes from the Latin ruber, simply “red”, as though no other word could be needed.

The ruby is a form of corundum, a crystal of aluminium oxide. Pure corundum is colourless. The red comes from a trace of chromium, and the same element causes the ruby to fluoresce, so a fine stone appears to glow from within, even in daylight. Corundum is also among the hardest materials in nature, second only to diamond. A ruby set today will look much the same in a hundred years, which is one reason the stone has always been passed down rather than replaced.

From Mozambique

For centuries the finest rubies were associated almost entirely with Burma. That changed in 2009, when significant ruby deposits were discovered near Montepuez in northern Mozambique. Within a decade the region had become one of the most important sources of fine rubies in the world.

At their best, Mozambique rubies are known for a saturated red, clear transparency and sizes rarely found elsewhere. They have earned a place in the collections of the world’s great jewellery houses on their own merit, not as an alternative to anything.

The Rubies of The Aveline

Every ruby in The Aveline was chosen for two qualities above all others: depth of colour and transparency. The red is deep without darkness, and light passes cleanly through each stone, so the rubies keep their brilliance in candlelight as well as daylight.

Selection was only the first step. The rubies, in oval and pear cuts, were then assorted against one another, oval to oval and pear to pear, until the full suite shared one tone. In a piece set with this many rubies, this is where the craft lies. A necklace can be set with many stones. It is the matching that makes them belong to one jewel.

A Classical Proportion

The Aveline necklace is built in tiers. Close to the collar, oval rubies run in one continuous row along the neckline, each separated by a spray of marquise diamonds. Below them, pear-shaped rubies descend in rows, every one set within its own frame of diamonds. Towards the front the tiers lengthen, until the necklace arrives at a single ruby drop at its centre.

The design is classical in the truest sense. Its strength lies not in novelty but in balance: the weight of red against the clarity of white, the steady line of the collar against the movement of the drops below. It would have been recognised fifty years ago, and it will be recognised fifty years from now.

Elaborate in Appearance, Fluid in Construction

For all its presence, The Aveline is not a rigid jewel. The necklace is articulated throughout, its elements linked so that it follows the neckline rather than sitting stiffly above it. It settles naturally on any neck, moves with the wearer, and is light enough to be worn through a long evening without being felt.

This is the part of a high jewellery piece that is rarely seen and always noticed. A necklace of this scale can be made to look grand. Making it wear with ease requires a different discipline altogether.

The Aveline is crafted in eighteen karat white gold, an alloy of seventy-five parts pure gold in a hundred, the standard for high jewellery.

The Earrings

The Aveline earrings take the language of the necklace into a vertical line. Oval rubies fall from the ear in measured succession, each framed by marquise diamonds. The drop then opens into three pear-shaped rubies at its base, each within a frame of diamonds, with pear diamonds finishing the outer edges.

Their rubies are matched to those of the necklace, so the two pieces share one red. Worn together, they complete the suite. Worn alone, the earrings stand complete on their own.

For Every Occasion

In India, red has long been the colour of the bride, of auspicious beginnings and of the celebrations that follow them. The Aveline belongs naturally to that tradition. Against the drape of a sari or the richness of a lehenga, it sits as though it had always been part of the occasion. It is equally at home with an evening gown, where the clean line of the collar and the depth of the rubies carry a quieter authority.

It is a suite for the wedding and the anniversary, for the evening still spoken of years later, and for whoever wears it next.

A Design for Every Season

High jewellery is measured over generations, not seasons, and The Aveline was made with that measure in mind. Rubies of the deepest red and diamonds of the purest white are set in a design of classical proportion that belongs to every season.

A jewel to be worn now, and kept long after.