Although it built its name delivering prim, uptown baubles for America’s wealthy industrialists—not to mention co-starring in a certain Oscar-winning 1961 film with Audrey Hepburn—Tiffany & Co.’s new high-jewellery collection seems cut for a different crowd than the old-school grandes dames. Case in point: this bold necklace set in 18-carat yellow gold, which energizes a classic structure with an eye-popping 124 carats of emerald-cut rubellites, each separated by 5 carats of square-cut diamonds, with nine cushion-cut amethysts acting as a string of violet exclamation points to the rich fuchsia hues.

Both the rubellites and the amethysts were sourced from Brazil, purchased in the rough and cut by Tiffany specifically for this design. “Each was hand-selected for its exceptional colour and clarity of the crystal,” says Victoria Wirth Reynolds, Tiffany & Co.’s chief gemologist. And the stonework was just the beginning.

An initial sketch of the necklace, which took a year and a half to create. Tiffany & Co.

Which is to say that, despite its deceptively simple arrangement, the piece required a year and a half to create. But the painstaking design work paid off, combining a restrained silhouette with high-impact, candy-coloured rocks for a piece that can be dressed up or down and worn anytime (even, for example, breakfast). Price upon request.