MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

These high jewellery creations, while striking on their own, can transform into even more dazzling pieces that can suit any occasion.

- MINDY TEH

Transformable jewellery will never lose its allure. These spectacular pieces by the world’s beloved jewellers can shapeshift from necklaces into brooches, a secondary necklace or a pair of earrings, each arresting piece bearing intrigue and delight like a conjuror’s magic box.

The versatility of a piece of jewellery that can change with one’s whims and fancies harks back to the glamour and romance of mid-century year-end sojourns to the Mediterranean, with celebrities and royalty mingling in an endless summer of evening galas, teas, and soirees on their yachts. The jewellery pieces were perfect companions on these long trips—soutiers and necklaces for evening galas, brooches and earrings for daytime engagements.

With extended travel back in vogue and women looking to jewellery to complement their multifaceted lifestyles, transformable pieces continue to amaze and beguile. These were creations that were very much ahead of their time, and fast-forward to today, they still are.

Of course, the idea of modular jewellery is not a novel one. Parures or sets were discovered to date as far back as 18th-century France, the savoir-faire evolving with each exquisite piece. By the 20th century, jewellers had developed new techniques that dreamt up pieces like Van Cleef & Arpels’ iconic Zip necklace that could transform into a bracelet—a creation said to be based on an idea mooted by the Duchess of Windsor.