Lovers of 1970s-style jewellery will be captivated by Boucheron’s new Serpent Bohème Vintage collection, an exquisite revival of the brand’s most beloved design.

First introduced in 1968, the Serpent Bohème line was inspired by a deeply sentimental creation: a snake-shaped necklace that brand founder Frédéric Boucheron gave his wife in 1888 as a token of protection and eternal love. However, unlike Boucheron’s gift, the collection interpreted the animal’s form with poetic abstraction, evoking a serpentine head through a signature pavé-set teardrop motif delicately crowned with gold beads.

Pieces from the 2025 Serpent Bohème Vintage collection

The iconic teardrop element has been reinterpreted many times over the years, appearing in various sizes, adorned with an array of vibrant gemstones, or incorporated into meticulously sculpted goldwork and finely chiselled chain links mimicking the texture of reptilian scales. Yet through all its iterations, Serpent Bohème has always maintained a certain timelessness.

Creative director Claire Choisne found the spark for the collection’s latest chapter in the archives. The piece that caught her eye was a striking 1974 sautoir necklace featuring chain links and a floral pendant composed of the emblematic teardrop shape, arranged in a circular pattern and set with cabochon-cut onyx and coral. Enthralled by its radiance and flamboyance, Choisne set out to capture its spirit in something new.

The 1974 necklace

The new Serpent Bohème Vintage collection comprises 15 creations spanning fine and high jewellery. At its heart are two variations of the original necklace – a fine-jewellery version in yellow gold, and a high-jewellery version in white gold, both set with brilliant-cut diamonds. Both retain the length of the 1974 design, while refining the links for a more streamlined silhouette. True to the jeweller’s transformable-jewellery expertise, these pieces can be worn in multiple ways, transforming into a shorter necklace, a pair of bracelets that join to form a choker, and even a brooch made from the detachable central flower motif. A shorter version of the same style in yellow gold offers an equally elegant alternative.

The collection continues with equally audacious gold floral rings, including a standout two-finger option that unfurls dramatically across the hand and a sculptural statement cuff that fully embodies the collection’s vintage aesthetic in brushed yellow gold. Alongside these showstoppers, the range also features elegant pared-back jewels suitable for everyday wear – a chain necklace, chain bracelet, earrings, and two delicate pendants suspended from the collection’s hallmark twisted chains.

Beyond the retro-chic of their aesthetic, these new pieces speak to Boucheron’s artistry and technical excellence in each carefully crafted detail, from the skilfully chiselled textures to the intricate honeycomb pattern hidden beneath each teardrop motif – a signature of the Serpent Bohème collection, designed to enhance the brilliance of the diamonds. Perfectly blending heritage with innovation, the collection evokes the exuberant vitality of the 1970s while reaffirming Boucheron’s jewellery-making savoir-faire.