In early 1962, Anthony Wainwright, then-Chairman of Boodles, set out to travel around the world in 16 days, buying diamonds, pearls and precious gemstones, as well as to expand his own horizons and network. Sixty years later, Anthony’s son and now-Chairman, Nicholas, embarked on a similar journey around Europe in ten days to serve as the inspiration behind the British house's new high jewellery collection – and he's captured it all on film.
"We’ll always be a forward-looking business, but once in a while, it’s nice to look back – and at my age, I do what I’m told," says Wainwright of the trip. "So when my family Co-Directors of Boodles said they’d like me to do a Grand Tour of Europe in 10 days, who was I to argue?"
Wainwright's journey explored present-day Europe and its rich heritage of gemstones and architecture, encompassing a variety of rich cultural experiences. From the undulating and violet landscapes of Provence in France to the workshops of Murano in Italy, Wainwright took seven different modes of transport in the 10 days (including an Aston Martin and a hot air balloon), visiting a wonderful array of cities including Antwerp, Paris, Geneva, Rome, London and, of course, the house's home of Liverpool.
He was joined by Rebecca (Head of Design at Boodles) and Jody (Nicholas’ son and Boodles Director) at various points to assist with sourcing the stones for the collection and gaining design inspiration from the locations first hand.
You can see all the pieces in the high jewellery collection, entitled 'A Family Journey: Around Europe in 10 Days' in our gallery below. Notable pieces include a Florence design suite set with heart shape diamonds, inspired by the angel wing motifs that appear across the city in frescoes, sculptures and stucco. The overall look is sculptured with a flow to the angel wings as they sweep around the stone. The clasp features a heart shaped motif set with pink diamonds surrounded by overlapping feathers.
The London, Royal Parks earrings feature two incredibly special, matching pear shape tsavorites, set in pink gold. The earrings were inspired by the royal parks of London and the Boodles pink taxi that Nicholas travelled around London in.
There is also an extraordinary Murano design necklace inspired by the fluidity of the glass during the blowing process, as well as the magical colours and patterns on the island. It is set with fancy shape multi-gems and diamonds which were handpicked and bought by Nicholas in Venice on his trip.
The Paris bracelet features colours and motifs from the Jardin de Tuileries and Pavillon De Flore, a cochonnet from Nicholas’ game of Petanque, and finally a yellow sapphire that he bought in Paris.
See the high jewellery collection below and find more information at boodles.com
