The camellia is a flower that keeps on giving – at least when the fine jewellery designers at Chanel are concerned. The blossom – it has been an intrinsic code of the maison since Coco Chanel used it in her fashion designs from the 1920s – has spawned some of the most theatrical and audacious fine jewellery designs starting from 2010 with the Camelia Ajoure collection which featured the flower interpreted in a graphic openwork style on rings, bracelets and necklaces.

In more recent times, the crop of contemporary designs makes wearing floral-themed jewellery a more statement (read: less precious) affair. These include 2014’s Camelia Galbe cocktail rings with their whopper-sized black and white ceramic flowers. But it wasn’t until 2016 – with the launch of the Bouton de Camelia range – that a more experimental phase of the camellia took root. Among the standouts from the line are designs that feature a diamond-paved camellia motif paired with a single pear-cut diamond.

The Ultimate Floral Bouquet: Some Of The Camelia Fine Jewellery Through The Years

More creative outings blossomed in 2018 in the form of the Petales de Camelia and the Extrait de Camelia which featured the smallest and largest interpretation of the flower motif respectively, as well as bold styles like a curved open ring. In the spirit of sharing more about this enigmatic fine jewellery inspiration at Chanel, we thought of no better way than to create a fictitious helpline to answer some FAQs. Simply press play on the video above and get ready for your camelia low-down.

Videography Andrew Goh, assisted by Ferry Tan Styling Imran Jalal, assisted by Lim Jiayi Hair & Makeup Eric Tan/Paletteinc, using Chanel, assisted by Ziwei Yang Model Vivien Pinter/Mannequin