French luxury brand Hermès will present its seventh high jewelry collection from April 28 to 30 at Hermès Maision in Shanghai, displaying 39 pieces of fine jewelry.

Named Les Jeux De L'ombre, this new collection designed by Pierre Hardy, creative director of the house's jewelry since 2001, relates the truth of contrasts, movement of shadow and its relationship with light.

"We always talk about light and sparkle in jewelry, so I wanted to take the opposite approach. In the performing arts, I've always loved the incandescent effect of the spotlights as well as the shadows they cast onto the stage floor. I find this distortion of light very appealing. The collection is a response to this desire: to poeticize the form taken by shadow," said Pierre Hardy.

"Any object is beautiful when placed against a dark background. The contrast effect heightens its power. I always wonder how women will wear my jewelry and how they will see themselves through these lights and shadows. I hold up a mirror to their freedom and picture them playing with their transformations," he added.

On the Lueurs du jour rings, earrings, and necklace, this shadow takes the material form of jade, worked by hand to give it a satin finish. On the Ombres mobiles pieces the shadow is titanium, set like a precious metal into the rose gold.

Gracefully flexing across the skin, the Chaînes d'ombre necklace required almost 2,000 hours of meticulous craftsmanship, including 700 hours of gem setting, to individually and carefully position each stone.