The story of FRED Jewellery begins with more than just an eye for beauty. What drives it is a mindset, one rooted in curiosity and a refusal to stay within the lines. Founder Fred Samuel approached his craft with the same energy he brought to sport. It shaped how he worked and how he lived—with resilience and a constant push to go further. He then passed it on to his sons, who carved out their own path as accomplished sailors, even becoming European champions in the Flying Dutchman class.
In 1966, their iconic bracelet Force 10 was born: a bold blend of steel and gold, named after the storm level on the Beaufort scale, which measures wind force. The idea of elder son Henri was inspired by the sailing world and is made from a combination of steel marine cables and yellow gold rivets. And that’s how Force 10 thrived and is now in its 60th year.
In 2026, the French maison, also known as The Sunshine Jeweller, celebrates its 90th anniversary and, to mark the occasion, Maison FRED is unveiling 17 new High Jewellery creations that pay tribute to the audacity of its signature piece.
If you’re going all in, the Force 10 XL is the bolder new addition. Done in white or yellow gold, the XL buckle comes set with pavé diamonds and paired with three interchangeable cables. One is lined with brilliant-cut diamonds, reworked here in an extra-large diameter for the first time. Another, in steel or yellow gold, nods back to the original two-tone design that defined Force 10 from the start. The Force 10 XL can go either way. Switch it up, or keep it a little more laid back. It plays up the versatility, but the icon remains.
Introduced in 2022, the FRED Hero Cut is central to the Force 10 story. Certified by the GIA (Gemological Institute of America), it reflects the maison’s technical skill and creative confidence. The cut is defined by its 36 facets, a subtle reference to 1936, the year the house was founded. That detail gives the diamonds a sharp and clean luminosity.
It first appears in the Force 10 Duality design, where brilliant-cut and baguette diamonds are set together in a graphic contrast. At the centre sits the signature stone, placed into the buckle and finished with a blue sapphire cabochon. Across the set, a tie necklace that shifts into a choker, an interchangeable buckle, a ring, and a single earring—each different design shows how that form keeps that same focus on light and precision.
Influenced by Art Deco style and the fashion of the time, when clothing was designed to allow the body to move more freely, the Force 10 buckle takes on a new form here—shifting into a tassel with diamond-set drops. It also ties back to the world Fred Samuel stepped into when he arrived in Paris in 1920, just as the city was coming alive with the energy of the Roaring Twenties. The tassel motif appears across both necklaces and long earrings, bringing constant movement to the pieces. From day to night, the High Jewellery interpretation pairs a fully diamond-paved buckle with a corda chain and drop strands in yellow gold, inspired by marine rope.
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