‘Unlike old romantic black and white depictions of the skies, all the recent imagery show it’s actually amazingly colourful,’ says CEO and president of Van Cleef & Arpels, Nicolas Bos. The cosmos is the inspiration for the new high jewellery collection, Sous les Etoiles, which draws galaxies, curving comets and celestial figures in brilliant precious stones. ‘If you look at those pictures with the eyes of a jeweller, you see stones,’ he adds. ‘The constellations immediately make you think of sapphires or opals, lapis lazuli, pyrite.’
Bos brings this wealth of colour to life for the new collection which returns to celestial themes a decade after Les Voyages Extraordinaires, the collection which drew its inspiration from a Jules Verne novel. The heavens have long fascinated the maison, from the chic black enamel cigarette cases of the Twenties to the romantic complication watches this century.
These new pieces bring together pyrite-flecked lapis lazuli with chalcedonies and tanzanites cast into hyponisting forms, with mauve sapphires and coral adding a heavenly pop to a bracelet. In the Saturne clip, rings of diamonds circle a half-sphere of hammered yellow gold, with threads of yellow gold under the rings bringing the piece to life. ‘Drawing is two-dimensional, the challenge for the jeweller is to use expertise to bring in a third dimension and give the feeling of movement,’ say Bos. ‘You’re working with the hardest materials that exist – it’s why they last forever – but to use these materials to create feelings of life and movement is a challenge. In this brooch, it could be a flat representation but we work on the volume and play with the reflection of the stones to bring real depth.’
INFORMATION
-
The Sialia 45 cruiser is a welcome addition to the new generation of electric boatsPolish shipbuilder Sialia Yachts has launched the Sialia 45, a 14m all-electric cruiser for silent running
-
Tokyo design studio We+ transforms microalgae into coloursCould microalgae be the sustainable pigment of the future? A Japanese research project investigates
-
What to see at London Craft Week 2025With London Craft Week just around the corner, Wallpaper* rounds up the must-see moments from this year’s programme
-
Van Cleef & Arpels light up London with the Dance Reflections festivalVan Cleef & Arpels are celebrating their ties with the world of choreography with the second edition of the Dance Reflections festival across London
-
Dazzling high jewellery for statement dressersIntricate techniques, bold precious stones and designs unite in these exquisite high jewellery pieces
-
High jewellery is given a literary twist in Van Cleef & Arpels' new Treasure Island-inspired collectionVan Cleef & Arpels look to Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic adventure story for a high jewellery collection in three parts
-
Take a look at the big winners of the watch world OscarsThe Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève is the Oscars for the watch world – get all the news on the 2024 event here
-
An impressive private jewellery collection goes on public display in Dubai, organised by Van Cleef & Arpels’ L’École, School of Jewelry ArtsLate French collector and antique art dealer Yves Gastou amassed an impressive ring collection, now the subject of an exhibition, ‘Men’s Rings, Yves Gastou Collection’
-
Art takes London: Tiffany & Co, Damien Hirst and artists take over Selfridges' windowsFour British contemporary artists celebrate Tiffany & Co's pioneering history with a series of storied window displays
-
Wild beauties: high jewellery dripping with dramaThe latest high jewellery collections are fantastic and flamboyant, drawing on a wealth of influences, from a Chopin composition and César Ritz to crocodiles and colour refraction
-
Late summer jewels: what to wear at Golden HourLate summer signals a jewellery style-shift. These independent designers have got it covered
