EXCLUSIVE: Louis Vuitton Taps Ana de Armas for High Jewelry Campaign
PARIS — Louis Vuitton has unveiled house ambassador Ana de Armas as the face of its latest high jewelry campaign, featuring its latest Deep Time collection.
In the visual, the “Blonde” and “No Time to Die” actress is wearing a bustier with a sweetheart neckline but, most importantly, the Bones necklace from the 95-piece first chapter of the collection revealed in mid-June, featuring an oval-cut Australian opal of more than 43 carats, a 20.93 carat pear-cut Paraiba tourmaline, nearly 100 carats of emerald-cut tanzanites — and white diamonds galore.
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The piece, which can be worn four ways, took some 4,430 hours to make and is said to be the most complex of the French luxury house’s necklaces to date.
De Armas succeeds Cate Blanchett, for last year’s Spirit collection, and Alicia Vikander, who fronted the brand’s first high jewelry campaign in 2021.
The images were captured by photographer S?lve Sundsb? in Greece, where the house unveiled the fifth high jewelry collection of artistic director for watches and jewelry Francesca Amfitheatrof during a multiday event that culminated with a performance at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus theater at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens. Dancers performed a work by Greek choreographer Dimitris Papaioannou to a score created by star violinist and orchestra conductor Renaud Capu?on.
Overall, the Deep Time collection will eventually include more than 170 unique designs and “a record number of precious stones,” according to the French luxury brand.
The gems certainly left an impression on de Armas, who said Amfitheatrof had explained that “the stones in the collection are some of the rarest and most unique ever found.”
Among them were a 40.80 carats royal blue sapphire from Sri Lanka paired with a 6-carat flower-cut diamond; an oval opal from a dried-up river in Mexico that hasn’t yielded stones for 100 years; an emerald-cut aquamarine of more than 30 carats, and a set of seven Colombian emeralds, totaling some 16 carats for the Gondwana collar necklace alone.
There were also some naturally occurring zircons, “one of the oldest minerals that predate even diamonds,” and a stone Amfitheatrof had chosen to highlight the idea that “the materials we are using are bigger than us” in their rarity and eons-old pedigree.
After touring the display in Greece, the actress lauded the jewelry designer’s creativity and “incredible ability to turn jewelry into works of art, and she understands that women want to feel bold and sensual,” calling her an inspiration.
“I was particularly touched by Francesca’s representation of an epic voyage through time, from the formation of earth to the creation of life,” de Armas said.
Necklaces were favorites for the house ambassador, in particular the Bones necklace she sports in the campaign; the Wave one that curled under the neck and featured that 40-carat sapphire, and the yellow and white gold Plants necklace set with brilliant-cut emeralds and rubies, part of the set she wore to a dinner celebrating the collection.
“The earrings were especially stunning,” she added.
The campaign is slated for global release for print media and online from Saturday.
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