6th July 2026, PARIS – Celebrating the first day of Haute Couture Week, Graff has unveiled a dedicated exhibition of a limited collection of new High Jewellery works of art; twelve unique butterfly brooches exemplifying the savoir-faire and technical mastery of the House, in an extraordinary illustration of Graff’s perpetual pursuit of excellence.
Interpreted through a signature silhouette and crafted with the rarest and most exceptional jewels in the world, the unmistakable presence of Graff’s iconic butterfly – an outline formed of two pear shape and two marquise stones – acts as a blank canvas across each creation, upon which the House’s designers and artisans have bestowed their magic.
Graff High Jewellery Butterfly brooches, Seraphina, Tamara and Freya, worn as jabot pin brooches
Francois Graff, Chief Executive Officer, comments: “In many ways, the continuous evolution of the Graff Butterfly embodies the ethos of Graff. We transform, reimagine and redefine what is possible across every aspect of the jewellery-making process in a pursuit of perfection to create magnificent treasures. Each one of these High Jewellery brooches embodies everything Graff stands for: bold creativity, impeccable design, pioneering craftsmanship and, of course, the most fabulous jewels in the world.”
Inspired by art, architecture and design details from Graff’s archive, reimagined through a contemporary lens, every brooch within the collection is designed to be unisex. Positioned on a fine jabot pin, a traditional fastening from the 17th century, a single scintillating butterfly forms the captivating centrepiece. Intricately handcrafted by Graff’s most experienced master artisans, this element is set to move en tremblant, fluttering with every motion of the wearer.
Echoing the metamorphosis of the butterfly, every creation is transformable, and can be worn as both a brooch and a pendant. At the tip of each jabot pin, a further embellishment: a single butterfly, ornate emblem or jewel, extends the creative narrative, reinforcing the piece’s versatility.
Anne-Eva Geffroy, Design Director, comments: “Fluttering through the natural world, the butterfly is an elusive creature – a fleeting beauty that is here and then gone. Here we have created a High Jewellery collection which captures and preserves that beauty, in the rarest diamonds and gemstones, within extraordinary transformable jewels.”
Situated within the historic Hotel d’Évreux on Place Vendome, the Artistry in Motion exhibition is designed to evoke the feeling of an art gallery; the twelve brooches presented in four groups, each communicating a different mode of artistic interpretation. Graff partnered with artist Rose Pilkington to create twelve unique artworks, one inspired by each of the brooches, which form the backdrop of the brooches on display.
Unique artworks created by artist Rose Pilkington for the project, each one inspired by the brooch it presents – seen here with (left to right) Selene, Luna, Marina, Athea and Daphne
The first grouping explores the theme of ‘Histories Reframed’, engaging with history through references to the Graff archive, and a journey across some of the most influential art movements of our time. Distinctive visual codes are reimagined, creating a dialogue of revival and transformation. Featured within this grouping is the Seraphina brooch, in which the Graff Butterfly is reimagined with ruffled diamond and ruby wings that flow like silk, inspired by the opulence and evocative spirit of Baroque. The Tamara brooch, named for Art Deco artist Tamara de Lempicka, is composed of rare emeralds, baguette cut and round diamonds set in the defining sunburst motifs of the era. The Freya brooch, inspired by a dragonfly brooch from the 2010 Graff archive and featuring rare multi-cut Fancy Vivid Yellow diamonds, celebrates Graff’s long and storied love affair with coloured diamonds.
Revealing how images are formed and experienced, works within group two, ‘Systems of Seeing’ explore how vision is constructed through perception, optics and the mechanics of looking. Within this group, the Eva brooch captures the butterfly’s ethereal beauty through a luminous interplay of colour in delicate dégradé of sapphires, tourmalines and diamond arcs, evoking the fluid brushstrokes of Impressionism. Marina echoes the Optical Art movement of the 1960s, the decade in which Graff was founded, centred on a layered diamond butterfly, framed by a striking geometric silhouette of custom cut baguette diamonds. In Athea, the unique electric blue colour of tourmalines combines with the brilliance of diamonds to evoke the artistic language of Pointillism.
Top left: The Freya brooch, inspired by an archival Graff dragonfly brooch. Top right: The Eva brooch, featuring diamonds, sapphires, emeralds and tourmalines.
Bottom left: The Sylvie brooch features rare seawater pearls. Bottom right: White & yellow diamond flowers form the Flora brooch.
Group three, ‘Material and Phenomenon’ features designs which are guided by organic materiality, structural weight and light in motion; these works consider what objects are and how they behave through texture and presence. In Lina, the butterfly takes on a striking silhouette, defined by a flawless expanse of square cut intensely pink-hued sapphires, which are punctuated by diamonds. Sylvie, named for the former pearly queen of Whitechapel, birthplace of Graff founder Laurence Graff, celebrates exceptionally rare, perfectly matched natural seawater pearls as a wonderous gift from nature. The wings of the Luna brooch are formed from an exquisite blush-toned layer of pink opal, softly opalescent in appearance – evoking the gossamer-like iridescence of a butterfly’s wings – delicately set with round diamonds.
The fourth and final theme, ‘Inner Worlds and Symbolic Space’ examines a psychological realm where meaning becomes fluid, poetic and open to interpretation, with jewellery creations anchored in dreams, metaphors and ambiguity. The Daphne brooch attains an almost ethereal sense of weightlessness as the butterfly’s silhouette, formed solely by the precise placement of diamonds, captures the first awakening of spring: white gold branches unfurl into diamond blossoms before transforming into the delicate form of a butterfly, as nature dissolves into a dreamlike vision. In Flora, Graff reinterprets a blossoming garden in butterfly form, where floral motifs take centre stage and ethereal creatures gently alight. The design unfolds into blossoming white diamond flowers, each centred by a yellow diamond. The Selene brooch features carved black spinel, providing a dramatic contrast to pear shape, marquise cut, oval and round diamonds, expertly recess-set in a design reminiscent of a lunar eclipse. The moon symbolises inner worlds; the contrast between the black spinel and pure white diamonds in multiple cuts represents the multi-faceted nature of the wearer’s internal life.
From left to right: Eva, Freya, Athea, Lina and Seraphina
A limited number of each brooch design will be available to purchase, with a total of eight brooches made to order per design. Elliott Graff, Managing Director, remarks: “When I look at these brooches, I see the exceptional beauty in the designs, but I also see the rarest stones and the most innovative and masterful craftsmanship – every boundary was pushed in the creation of these masterpieces. They are true works of art.”
An iconic motif for the House, for over 50 years the Graff Butterfly has inspired a universe of jewels and timepieces. Since its first interpretation in 1975, this remarkable silhouette has continued to metamorphose, and today, the Graff Butterfly is universally recognised as an evocative symbol of evolution, representing the power of transformation as diamonds take flight.
The Graff Butterfly High Jewellery masterpieces have been exhibited at Hotel d’Évreux during Paris Haute Couture Week, 6th – 10th July 2026 before travelling to key cities globally.
Photos: © GRAFF