The Many Lives of Wladimir

Oct 25

2 min read

Wladimir once wore Boucheron’s jewels. Now the jewels wear his face. Somewhere between the two, another cat named Grichka entered the picture.

A small black cat stretching its paw towards an oversized diamond-covered Wladimir ring with vivid green gemstone eyes and a green-stone necklace.

In Boucheron’s latest Wladimir campaign, the jewelry has grown large enough for a cat to play with. Nearly fifty years earlier, another black cat had appeared in the house’s advertisements, although the proportions were rather different.

His name was Wladimir. He belonged to Gérard Boucheron and lived at 26 Place Vendôme in Paris. Beginning in 1978, he appeared in advertisements wearing the house’s High Jewelry creations. In one archival photograph, a necklace of diamond flowers rests against his thick black fur. The dark background nearly swallows his outline, leaving his amber eyes and the diamonds to catch the light. Wladimir continued appearing in Boucheron advertisements until 1987.

Vintage Boucheron advertisement showing a fluffy black cat with amber eyes wearing a diamond floral necklace against a dark background. — Wladimir, Gérard Boucheron's cat, wearing a floral High Jewelry necklace in an archival advertisement. The campaign began in 1978 and continued until 1987.

Claire Choisne began developing jewelry inspired by Wladimir in 2018. The following year, two rings bearing his likeness appeared in the Paris, vu du 26 High Jewelry collection. His broad face, long coat and necklace were recreated in precious materials, but his eyes had become green. For the Wladimir II ring, Boucheron fitted three elements together: onyx for the pupil, green tourmaline for the iris and rock crystal to create depth. The gaze that a camera had once captured now had to be assembled, stone by stone.

Sculptural cat-head ring covered in black stones, with green eyes and a collar of white diamonds. — Wladimir I ring from the 2019 *Paris, vu du 26* High Jewelry collection, featuring black sapphires, emerald eyes and white diamonds.

By 2021, Wladimir had entered Boucheron’s fine jewelry collection, appearing on rings, pendants and a pearl necklace. During its development, Choisne turned to her own cat, Grichka, who was the same breed as the original Wladimir. She photographed him repeatedly to study his expression, particularly the way his eyes met the camera. Grichka provided a living reference for the designs, which continued to carry Wladimir’s name.

A cream-coloured blue-eyed cat held beside a double-strand pearl necklace with a diamond-set Wladimir cat pendant and blue gemstones. — Wladimir pearl necklace featuring diamonds and a detachable feline brooch adorned with blue sapphires and tanzanites, photographed for the Fall–Winter 2021 *Animaux de Collection* novelties.

The necklace also found its way into the jeweled portraits. On one white-gold ring, green tsavorites curve beneath the diamond-covered chin, occupying the same position as the necklaces in Wladimir’s old advertisements. His long fur was worked into gold, with individual contours suggesting the direction of the coat.

Overhead view of a black cat curled inside a large double-strand pearl necklace with a diamond-set cat-head pendant featuring blue gemstones. — Wladimir pearl necklace, photographed with a black cat for the 2026 Wladimir campaign.

The new campaign brings a living cat back among the diamonds. Nearly fifty years after the original Wladimir posed for Boucheron’s advertisements, another cat has come to inspect the result.

Opening image: A black cat reaches towards Wladimir's jeweled likeness in Boucheron's 2026 campaign, bringing the house's feline mascot face to face with its gemstone portrait.