Boucheron Quatre: A Moment in Time, Eternalised

by Pressroom

Boucheron encapsulates the sound of waves inside the new groundbreaking “Quatre 5D Memory” ring

What if fleeting moments could be captured and preserved in a piece of jewellery, not just to be worn, but to be replayed with sound? Boucheron’s “Quatre 5D Memory” ring can now encapsulate the memory of water for billions of years to come. In the words of CEO Hélène Poulit-Duquesne, the iconic Quatre ring is now a “vessel that holds a memory, an emotion, that is given to future generations.”

Through the ‘Quatre 5D Memory’ ring, I wanted to encapsulate, for billions of years, a memory of my childhood spent by the ocean. This piece proves that we have still not reached the boundaries of jewellery, and we will continue to push to them, so as to fully express the strength of our creative vision.

Claire Choisne, Creative Director of Boucheron

Earlier this year, Boucheron’s creative director, Claire Choisne explored what makes water precious, in the Maison’s 2024 Carte Blanche Or Bleu collection. Taking this premise one step further, she chose to explore immortalising one memory of water for future generations – the sound of waves – into a time(less) capsule in the form of the “Quatre 5D Memory” ring.

The unique score was developed in collaboration with IRCAM (the French Institute for Acoustic/Music Research and Coordination) – Centre Pompidou. The audio is then stored within the Quatre ring with an optical storage process for digital data – “5D memory” which allows a massive amount of information to be encoded in nanostructured glass measuring just a few nanometers. The size of the Quatre ring would allow it to record up to 100 megabytes of data in the material: Glassomer®, a sturdy, transparent silica glass with unique optical properties that was shaped in collaboration with the company of the same name to reproduce the Quatre’s distinctive aesthetic. Except for the diamonds set in white gold, the Quatre ring’s patterns are sculpted into the material. This precious, secret memory the ring holds, can be played in its original format by viewing the data points engraved within, with a polarised light microscope.

This is the first time this ultrafast nanostructuring technique invented by Peter Kazansky, Professor at the University of Southampton and the Chief Science Officer of SPhotonix, is adopted by a High Jewellery Maison. Boucheron’s pursuit of innovation has been a pillar of the Maison since it was founded. Claire Choisne is introducing new materials into the Carte Blanche collections to look into the meaning of preciousness.

Since 2020, the Maison has unveiled capsule editions every year with this innovative approach. Following the combination of denim and diamonds in 2020, the Holographique edition in 2021, the Jack de Boucheron Ultime brooch in Cofalit®* in 2022, and aluminium in 2023, Boucheron has now succeeded in encapsulating the memory of water inside its iconic Quatre ring.

Images courtesy of Boucheron, artwork by Curatedition. All rights reserved.

Related links:

Boucheron Carte Blanche: Elemental

Boucheron Quatre: Magic Number 4

Cartier Trinity: To Infinity and Beyond

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