One year after opening its doors at Place Vendôme, Van Cleef & Arpels began growing flowers in its archives.
Following the first daisy clip created in 1907, jewellery interpretations have boasted figurative, stylised and imaginary flowers. Whether a single bloom or in bouquets, they pay tribute to the freshness and vitality of flora in motion while showcasing meticulous craftsmanship.
The Roses bracelet set with diamonds, emeralds and rubies earned the maison the Grand Prize at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in 1925.
Other historic pieces include the Peony double clip, one depicting a peony in full bloom and the other is just blossoming; the transformable Passe-Partout with detachable flower clips; and Cosmos representing a flower with four heart-shaped petals.
Gracefully curved heart-shaped petals are combined with mirror-polished or pavé-set gold in the Frivole collection. The play on light and reflections, asymmetrical compositions along with the graphic and aerial aesthetic give life and motion to the floral jewellery.
Launched in 2003, Frivole will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year. In the meantime, Van Cleef & Arpels has released seven new pieces that echo nature's vitality through gold set with rubies or emeralds.
Selected for their intense green, emeralds interact with the warmth of sunny yellow gold in a bracelet, a pendant and earrings, while rubies, ranging from orange-red to deep-red hues, meet with rose gold for another pretty triptych.
The selection of rubies and emeralds follows the same quality criteria as for high jewellery, and the cutting and matching of the stones were also crucial to optimise the beauty of each gem.
A polychromatic floral composition, the new Frivole ring comprises five flowers with ruby hearts and three with emerald pistils, subtly placed at different heights. The motifs blossom against rose and yellow gold, whose union amplifies the play of light.
A traditional technique used by Van Cleef & Arpels since the 1920s, mirror polishing is delicately executed by hand on each petal, to enhance the radiance of the yellow gold and rose gold, creating intense reflections, as if the pieces were sparkling under the sunlight.
The combination of the two shades of gold required special attention from the craftsmen, as well as the meticulous placement of each motif, playing on subtle offsets in assembling the eight-flower ring.
