Hover Craft

Kenneth Jay Lane gave us the snake cuff, Dior's Victoire de Castellane added everything from frogs to seahorses to bumblebees, and now luxury jeweler Garrard is introducing a new species to the fine jewelry menagerie: the hummingbird.

Inspired by the fragility and vibrant colors of its tiny namesake, the full Hummingbird Collection is set to be unveiled at the jeweler's Beverly Hills flagship next Tuesday. Pink, blue and yellow cabochon sapphires have been cut into custom teardrop shapes and combined with rare yellow and pink diamonds, creating a softly feminine color palette. Each piece showcases an intricate vignette of hummingbirds, butterflies and the flowers that feed them, an apt complement to the season's prevailing floral trend. The resulting statement is distinctly subtle, yet its delicacy makes just as powerful an impact as Garrard's bigger, bolder pieces.

There's something sweetly old-fashioned about the collection, which brings to mind the curvilinear, nature-inspired motifs of the Art Nouveau era. But perhaps that's to be expected from Garrard, a brand that constantly strives to combine its heritage as the world's oldest jeweler with the trend-driven nature of a modern audience.

—Erin Magner