What happened when Cartier and Sofia Coppola took on Kyoto?

A 41-carat sapphire, a tea ceremony in a 13th-century Zen temple and an evening with Sofia Coppola are not the usual ingredients of a first trip to Japan. But Cartier had chosen Kyoto to unveil Chapter II of its High Jewellery collection, Le Chœur des Pierres, and over an unforgettable 48 hours, the city proved every bit as compelling as the jewels.

Kyoto was Japan's imperial capital for more than 1,000 years, and that sense of history is hard to escape. Our first morning took us to Tofuku-ji, a Zen Buddhist temple founded in 1236, where we took part in a traditional tea ceremony, watching the careful preparation of matcha and the measured sequence of gestures that have been passed down through generations. Afterwards, we headed to Gion, Kyoto's historic entertainment district, for lunch at Sushi Tadayasu, sitting at the counter as the chef prepared and served each piece of sushi individually.

Then came the jewels.  At the Kyoto National Museum, Cartier presented 46 new creations from Le Chœur des Pierres – The Choir of Stones – exploring the colour, form and character of individual gemstones.

Among the most striking was Stellara, a necklace centred on a 41.01-carat Ceylon sapphire, with diamonds radiating outwards in a geometric arrangement that seemed almost weightless.  Panthère Tunya was more dramatic, featuring a 48.12-carat Zambian emerald cabochon and Cartier's celebrated diamond-and-onyx panther above a cascade of emerald beads and fancy yellow diamonds. Etnara, inspired by volcanic lava, combined a 67-carat rubellite with rows of rubellites and topazes in vivid shades of pink and red.

Back at the museum that evening, dinner was accompanied by a Kabuki performance, while models showcased the latest creations. Among the guests were BLACKPINK's Jisoo, wearing the magnificent Stellara necklace, and filmmaker Sofia Coppola, a longtime creative collaborator of the maison.

On our last day, we spent the morning wandering around Higashiyama, exploring its stone-paved lanes and popping into shops selling ceramics, incense and Japanese crafts. Lunch was at Kodaiji Jugyuan, in a villa built for a wealthy Osaka merchant in 1908.  We dined in a private tatami room overlooking the gardens, where a traditional kaiseki lunch arrived in a succession of small, seasonal courses.

Our final stop was UPLINK Kyoto for Cartier Cinema Club, where Sofia Coppola joined Pierre Rainero, Cartier's Image, Style and Heritage Director, for a conversation ahead of a special screening of Marie Antoinette, marking the film's 20th anniversary. Coppola's irreverent take on the French queen has lost none of its charm.

Cartier could hardly have chosen a more fitting setting for its extraordinary stones than Kyoto, a city with its own exacting ideas about beauty.