Two new collections were recently launched by Van Cleef & Arpels at the historical Dumfries House in Ayrshire, Scotland: Flowerlace, as delicate as sunlight on lace, and Fleurs d’Hawaï, as radiant as a tropical breeze. Nature has always been a source of inspiration for the maison, and the creations of these two collections continue to enrich its floral repertoire. “The idea was to bring our blooming flowers from our creative garden to a real garden that was meaningful to us. That garden is the rose garden here, which the maison has helped bring to life through our collaboration with The King’s Foundation, which we’ve worked with for almost 20 years,” said Catherine Rénier, CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels, the day after the launch. Flowerlace, as its name suggests, combines two main motifs of the maison: flowers and Haute Couture. In yellow gold and diamonds, the corolla becomes lacework, light as air, radiant as the morning sun.
Rings, earrings, pendants: each jewel carries the touch of a master’s hand, every curve softened, every pistil glowing with golden beads and diamonds. Nothing is rigid here: petals tilt, shapes lean, and the whole design feels like nature breathing.
It is both jewel and gesture, echoing the elegance of Van Cleef & Arpels’ past, from Art Deco silhouettes to the ethereal creations of 2007, where fashion and flowers first entwined.
Fleurs d’Hawaï is inspired by lush gardens overflowing with light and joy, and celebrates the colours of paradise through a bouquet of five gemstones: golden citrine, violet amethyst, pink rhodolite, crystalline aquamarine, and the green of fresh leaves.
Each petal, pear-shaped, is crafted in rose, yellow, or white gold to let the light pass through like sunlight on a wave. At the centre, diamonds sparkle among golden beads, forming flowers that feel almost in motion, alive, radiant, joyous. And then, there are the secret watches: jewels that hold time gently hidden, their mother-of-pearl dials tucked beneath a corolla of gemstones. Like a flower that only blooms when you touch it, these creations transform: bracelet, brooch, pendant.
Van Cleef & Arpels has been creating flower-inspired pieces since its inception, as its archives attest. For instance, in 1907, we find in the archives the Marguerite brooch. Then, in the Thirties, with the Serti Mysterieux, the maison created the Pivoine brooch in 1937 and other floral pieces.
Van Cleef & Arpels captures the very essence of flowers with stylised interpretations bordering on the abstract, such as the Fleurette creations, whose corollas are composed of seven round-cut diamonds that shine in unison thanks to the rigorous process of selection and pairing carried out by the gemological department. This dimension of refined purity is also found in the Frivole collection, characterised by ethereal creations with a graphic design, whose mirror-polished corollas and heart-shaped petals evoke the Maison’s positive vision of life.
Article edited by Laura Astrologo Porché
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By mb@admin
