Francesca Amfitheatrof’s debut high jewellery collection for Louis Vuitton paid homage to female medieval heroes and their will to forge their own destiny. The new artistic director for jewellery and watches drew on the aesthetic of knights’ armour, swords and heraldic crests to create a luminous collection notable for its architectural lines, sensual loops and spectacular gemstones.

The star piece of the Riders of the Knights collection is an incredible subtle choker, the Royaume. Shaped like a gorget – the armour piece designed to protect the throat — the imposing choker is exquisitely rendered as a mesh ‘woven’ with 1600 diamonds, a true technical feast, with a 19.31-carat royal blue sapphire as its centrepiece.

Elsewhere, the Reine necklace combines 153 carats of dazzling aquamarines mounted on a pavé chain set with 24 carats of diamonds to be worn as a single row choker, while the Cavalière necklace showcases spinels, a deep red gem that symbolises ardour and courage, cut here to contrast with diamonds.