High jewelry and Van Cleef & Arpels are synonyms. And 2020, decided the Parisian Maison, is the right year to retrace the glories related to the maximum expression of its jewelry. Van Cleef & Arpels, in fact, has decided to present three high jewelery creations that respectively celebrate emerald, ruby and diamond. They are jewels made using rare lots of precious stones, the Merveille d’Оmeraudes necklace, the Rubis en scéne bracelet and the Tendresse Оtincelante earrings, which pay homage to iconic jewels that belonged to important clients of the Maison.
Merveille d’Оmeraudes necklace and earrings
Recently created by the Van Cleef & Arpels atelier in place Vendôme, the Merveille d’Оmeraudes necklace recalls an emblematic jewel in the history of the Maison: the collerette of Princess Fawzia from 1929. Adorned with ten drop-shaped emeralds suspended from a frame with a geometric design entirely set of diamonds, in 1947 it had been purchased for His Royal Highness by the representative of the Court of Egypt in France. Worn by the princess on several occasions, since 2014 this historical piece is part of the Van Cleef & Arpels Collection and is exhibited on the occasion of exhibitions organized all over the world. The five Colombian emeralds of the necklace are characterized by a warm green color and generous proportions, with a total weight of 70.40 carats, with an elongated drop cut. At the top of the stones there is a discreet hollow on the culasse, which testifies to its past history: these ancient pendants were in fact split, or separated respectively into two drops, to enhance all the finesse and beauty of their material.
Emerald enthusiasts can also notice elegant jardins, that is inclusions that accentuate the character of each specimen. The emeralds, thus preserved by the Maison in their original teardrop shape, mark glittering round cut diamond ribbons, baguettes and triangles. As in the necklace by Fawzia, where the clip falls on the back, this creation also has an ornamental motif intended to illuminate the back of the neck. In fact, the emeralds come off the necklace to be accompanied or replaced by pear cut diamonds (one 5.81 carat DFL type 2A and two 3.59 carat DIF type 2A each), which can also be attached to the clasp. Both emeralds and diamonds can also be suspended from the earrings that complete the set and which, if embellished with pendants, are transformed from a short model into two different long versions.
The Rubis en scéne bracelet
With a distinctly volumetric structure and flaming pavé, the Rubis en scéne bracelet pays tribute to Marlene Dietrich’s favorite jewel: the Jarretiére bracelet by Van Cleef & Arpels. Purchased by the actress in 1937, this large-scale creation is made up of large scrolls set with rubies and diamonds. Marlene Dietrich was often photographed with this bracelet, which she wore on stage in Alfred Hitchcock’s film Stage Fright (1950). The Maison today reinterprets this iconic creation through a bracelet embellished with 72 Burmese rubies for a total of 84.74 carats. Throughout its history, Van Cleef & Arpels will rarely gather as many rubies of this quality, meticulously matched by the Maison’s expert gemologists and adapted by cutting them into a pillow.
Rubies are characterized by an intense and deep color, with different shades from bright red to purple. The gems cover two semicircles of different diameters, joined together to wrap the wrist in a large tête-à-tête. The whole is supported by a perforated white gold structure set with round, square and baguette-cut diamonds, designed to ensure comfort and balance to the jewel.
Tendresse Оtincelante earrings with removable pendants
This creation is inspired by the Van Cleef & Arpels earrings given by Aristotle Onassis to Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis in 1968 on the occasion of the wedding. She will show herself several times wearing these large floral motifs set in diamonds that hold generous cabochon cut rubies. Today the Maison reaffirms its passion for nature and the Pierres de Caractére, special gems, through these earrings, in which a flowery corolla unfolds around a pear-shaped diamond. The curvilinear and raised shape that animates the petals, embellished with delicate ribs, is an expression of the Maison’s vision of a vital nature in perpetual becoming. They are completed with removable pendants made up of two DFL type 2A pear cut diamonds totaling 20.21 carats. These stones of over ten carats each have the particularity of coming from the same raw mineral.