In 1938, Robert Dumas looked to the sea for inspiration and found it in the utilitarian elegance of an anchor chain. From his sketchbook emerged the Chaîne d’ancre, a motif that would become one of Hermès’ (Instagram) most enduring emblems. At once graphic and functional, its oval links with central bars embodied the maison’s ability to transform the everyday into the extraordinary. Almost a century later, Pierre Hardy, creative director of Hermès jewellery, has carried that vision into new territory, reinterpreting the chain as both object and idea, motif and sculpture.
“Accumulating, merging and fluidifying, I explored several territories starting with the archetypal form,” Hardy notes. That exploration is visible throughout the collection, where each link is a laboratory of scale, material, and proportion. At times minimalist, at others exuberantly ornate, the Chaîne d’ancre is less a fixed design than a set of possibilities waiting to be unlocked.
This collection revels in opposites. The Chaîne d’ancre can appear featherlight, delicate in silver or slim yellow gold, or it can assert itself with monumental force, as in rose gold set with thousands of pavé diamonds. Some pieces read like a seal of identity, stark and graphic against the skin, while others luxuriate in volume and intricacy. It is in these surprising shifts, between discreet and spectacular, that Hardy establishes the chain as both classic and avant-garde.
One of the collection’s signatures is its embrace of unlikely unions. Nautical links are multiplied into dense rows, stretched into elongated forms, or tangled into sculptural arrangements. A bracelet might combine silver and rose gold in dialogue, while a necklace layers dozens of interwoven chains into a silvery cascade. The Chaîne d’ancre Multichaînes necklace and bracelet, for instance, reinterpret the link as rhythm rather than repetition, offering a fluid counterpoint to the motif’s original rigor.
Perhaps most striking is Hardy’s willingness to let irreverence coexist with preciousness. The Chaîne d’ancre Punk rings, whether double or triple, transform the link into edgy, almost rebellious adornments, their sharp geometry worn like armour. At the other extreme, minaudières crafted in white gold and diamonds become hybrid “Sacs bijoux,” blurring the boundaries between jewellery and object. Carried around the neck or wrist, these pieces elevate utility into a glittering act of performance. Even the clasp, traditionally hidden, becomes a protagonist, worn proudly at the front like a declaration of independence.
The collection’s gems are no less commanding. A Chaîne d’ancre necklace dazzles with more than 5,000 diamonds set around a cushion-cut orange sapphire weighing nearly 15 carats. Another features a cascade of diamonds anchored by a 2.02-carat oval-cut stone. Elsewhere, tourmalines in shades of green and multicolour add an unexpected vibrancy, reminding us that playfulness and opulence can live side by side. These stones are not mere embellishments; they act as fulcrums around which the entire composition revolves.
What emerges is a body of work that remains true to the Hermès ethos: a respect for craftsmanship, a love of materials, and a refusal to compromise between tradition and innovation. The Chaîne d’ancre continues to evolve not because it abandons its origins, but because it embraces them as a foundation for experimentation. In Hardy’s hands, the motif becomes a living form, fluid, transformative, and unapologetically bold.
This reinvention is not about novelty for its own sake. It is about exploring how an archetypal design can generate endless variations, each one a reflection of contemporary taste yet anchored in heritage. From discreet silver bracelets to high-voltage ear cuffs and jewel-box minaudières, the collection demonstrates the elasticity of an idea born nearly a century ago.
The Chaîne d’ancre today is less a single design than a universe of interpretations. It can be punk or precious, minimalist or maximalist, jewel or object. It speaks to those who value tradition and to those who thrive on disruption. Above all, it embodies Hermès’ cavalier spirit, a willingness to ride between categories, to transform the familiar into the unexpected.
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