Color has always been one of Roberto Coin’s most persuasive forms of expression. In the Shanghai collection, that instinct takes on a distinctly botanical character, with green gemstones arranged in lush clusters that evoke gardens, foliage and the filtered light of a shaded landscape.
Inspired by the visual richness of Shanghai and by Roberto Coin’s own fascination with Asian gardens, the collection brings together peridot, green tourmaline and diamonds in compositions that feel organic rather than rigid. Oval, pear-shaped and round stones appear in layered arrangements, creating a sense of movement that is closer to leaves and blossoms than to traditional geometric jewelry.
For Coin, the appeal of green was deeply connected to nature. He has spoken of finding the same sense of peace in his private gardens that he associated with Asian landscapes, describing the many shades of green as a source of inspiration for the collection. That idea translates elegantly into the jewelry, where lighter peridots sit beside deeper green tourmalines and flashes of diamond brilliance.
Peridot is particularly important to the story. With its vivid yellow-green tone, the gemstone has long been associated with summer and is the traditional birthstone of August. In the Shanghai collection, however, it is used less as a seasonal accent and more as part of a broader exploration of color. Against darker tourmalines, the stone appears almost illuminated, creating contrast without relying on sharp lines or heavy structure.
The effect is especially striking in the collection’s rings, earrings and bracelets. Rather than centering a single dominant stone, many of the designs rely on clustered gemstones of different cuts and tonal depths. The result is softer and more fluid, with color becoming the principal design language.
That approach is consistent with the broader Shanghai collection, which over the years has incorporated a much wider spectrum of gemstones, including topaz, iolite, citrine, amethyst, quartz and sapphire. What connects the pieces is not one specific palette but an enthusiasm for saturated color and rounded, tactile forms.
The green compositions highlighted in this particular chapter of Shanghai are among the collection’s most elegant interpretations. Peridot brings brightness; tourmaline introduces depth; diamonds provide punctuation. Together, they create the impression of sunlight moving through foliage, with lighter and darker tones shifting depending on the angle of the stones.
There is also a distinctly Italian sensibility beneath the Asian inspiration. Roberto Coin’s work has long combined strong visual identities with meticulous goldsmithing, and Shanghai follows that tradition. The exuberance of the gemstones is balanced by careful proportions and settings that allow each stone to remain visible rather than disappearing into excessive ornament.
That balance is what keeps the collection from feeling overly decorative. Despite the richness of the colors, the jewelry retains a sense of restraint. The shapes are romantic but controlled, the stones expressive without becoming chaotic.
Seen today, the Shanghai collection is a reminder of why colored gemstones remain so central to contemporary fine jewelry. Diamonds may provide brilliance, but color provides mood. A green tourmaline or peridot can suggest season, landscape and emotion in a way that a colorless stone cannot.
For Roberto Coin, those shades became a way of translating memory and place into jewelry. Shanghai was never meant to be a literal portrait of the city; rather, it distilled impressions of gardens, light and color into wearable form.
The result is a collection that feels less like an ode to a destination than to the atmosphere surrounding it—lush, layered and alive with green.
