Jewellery counters the transience of real flowers, fixing their delicate beauty in metal and stone to last season after season. Few ateliers cultivate such timeless artistry with as much consistency or creativity as Van Cleef & Arpels.
Its Daisy brooch (1907) demonstrates the maison’s early understanding of fragility without sacrificing grace. This year, Van Cleef & Arpels expands its garden further with new blooms. With sparkling diamonds and yellow gold filigree, Flowerlace traces a corolla in airy openwork. In contrast, Fleurs d’Hawaï replies in saturated hues, draping pear-cut citrines, rhodolites, peridots, aquamarines, and amethysts into leis designed to appear fresh forever.
FLOWERLACE
Historically, Flowerlace falls between two precedents. The filiform outline recalls the Silhouette clips from the late 1930s, geometrically sparse bouquets that typified the late Art Deco mood of the house, and its name comes from the 2007 high-jewellery suite that combined couture details with natural forms.
In the new designs, a single bloom is reduced to its essence: a yellow gold corolla lit by diamonds. Five variations of the motif are presented by Van Cleef & Arpels: a classic ring, a Between-the-Finger ring, studs, a pendant, and a transformable clip-pendant.
Wax models are used to create each piece. Using lost-wax casting, jewellers freeze the outline in gold, then refine every curve by hand. Gently arched petals add volume, while a pistil of polished gold beads with mixed-size diamonds introduces the organic asymmetry of a natural flower. With a final polish, artisans give the metal a satin gleam reminiscent of couture ribbons.
The house’s gem setters choose diamonds from a strict shortlist—D to F colour, IF to VVS clarity—and shape the prongs into rounded beads to reinforce the lace metaphor. In the Between-the-Finger ring, a single brilliant-cut diamond balances the bloom across an open stem, a quiet flourish that shows the maison’s ease with negative space.
FLEURS D’HAWAÏ
The Fleurs d’Hawaï collection is part of a lineage that began with the maison’s 1938 Passe-Partout, featuring transformable floral motifs on a Tubogas chain. Post-war Hawaï pieces continued this legacy, replacing the petals with rubies and sapphires.
The new Fleurs d’Hawaï updates this tradition with lighter mounts, sharper cuts, and a colour palette that shifts from primary hues to the layered tones of a tropical garden. It includes a suite of earrings, rings, pendants, and secret watches that centre around a singular, generous corolla.
Five exquisite gemstones lead the colour palette: citrine, amethyst, rhodolite, aquamarine, and peridot. Each is paired with rose, yellow, or white gold to enhance its vibrancy, with the pear cut set tip-to-tip, so the composition resembles petals in mid-bloom.
Every creation begins with a wax maquette. The mount is cast in gold using lost-wax casting, and then painstakingly refined by hand. Each petal is raised slightly to allow light through, and each pistil has seven diamonds perched on a discreet stem. Gold beads and ball-finished prongs complement the roundness of the stones, adding liveliness to the surface, while a curved gold leaf introduces volume and a touch of asymmetry.
The collection includes three secret watches that further showcase this artistry. Twelve matched pear-cut gems form the bezel, encircling a mother-of-pearl dial edged with round diamonds. A pivoting motif conceals the time until the wearer decides to reveal it. Upon unpinning, the floral motif can be transformed into a wristwatch, clip, or pendant. Finally, satin straps reflect the gem-and-gold combinations—citrine with yellow gold, rhodolite with rose gold, and aquamarine with white gold—ensuring a seamless transition of colour from the case to the clasp.
