The Parisian house Van Cleef & Arpels is bringing emblematic floral creations that contemplate the wonders of nature.
Inspired by the beauty and harmony of blossoms, the pieces showcase the virtuosity of the maison’s diamond craftsmanship, exhibiting some of the world’s most enchanting High Jewellery, jewellery and timepieces.
Founded in 1906, Van Cleef & Arpels has long drawn inspiration from nature and, in 1970, the Rose de Noël collection was launched – named for the unique, winter-blooming Christmas Rose. Originally in pink coral, yellow gold and diamonds, the pieces have since embraced joyful variations, moving with the times to marry the sparkle of diamonds with the reflections of white or grey mother-of-pearl, coral and chalcedony, as well as chrysoprase.
The Rose de Noël mini pendant features yellow gold, lapis lazuli and diamonds and, to create these gleaming, coloured flowers, Van Cleef & Arpels’ expert gemologists select materials of the highest quality. White mother-of-pearl brings iridescent reflection; lapis lazuli, an intense and uniform shade of blue. It takes several years to source perfectly matched ensembles due to the stones’ rarity. And the diamonds, of course, meet the maison’s standards of excellence: D to F for colour and IF to VVS for clarity. The Fleurette collection motif features seven round diamonds forming a delicate corolla. The meeting of rose gold and diamonds creates a radiant harmony unfolding as a delicate flower. The collection includes a necklace with five motifs as well as the new Fleurette ring, introduced in 2022, boasting a widened body set with diamonds of decreasing size, giving the illusion of a weightless corolla elegantly accompanying every gesture.
The brilliant Frivole creations are crafted from white gold paved with diamonds. The five-flower bracelet embellishes the wrist with sparkling diamonds sitting in perfect harmony with the nine-flower necklace. The Between the Finger Ring presents a dialogue between three flowers in mirror-polished white gold and a diamond-paved flower invoking the exuberance of blooming nature in springtime.
The gorgeously whimsical idea of a garden in which time is gauged by a variety of flowering plants opening and closing at specific hours of the day – the floral clock envisaged by Swedish botanist Carl von Linné – formed the principal for two brand-new timekeepers: the Lady Arpels Heures Florales and Lady Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier. The latter features a 38mm case in rose gold and diamonds with a dial of rose, white and yellow gold, pink sapphires, yellow and white diamonds, white mother-of-pearl and miniature paintings all held on a shiny pink alligator strap.
The watches’ three-dimensional dials tick by the hours with the opening and closing of 12 corollas and telling time becomes a poetic spectacle as the flowers blossom and close at random, recreating the scenery of the dial every 60 minutes.