Excessive jewelry is given a literary twist in Van Cleef & Arpels’ new Treasure Island-inspired assortment

Van Cleef & Arpels take inspiration from a literary traditional for its newest excessive jewelry assortment, which interprets Robert Louis Stevenson’s journey story, Treasure Island, into treasured stones and metals. Divided into three components, the gathering considers conventional instruments of navigation within the first chapter, rethinking the sailor’s knot and portray the colors of the ocean in a gradient of blue hues. Staying trustworthy to the traditions of the Maison, the second chapter seems at motifs from nature, from seashells, to flowers and timber. Within the remaining chapter, jewelry is imbued with an adventurous spirit, intertwining references from Asia, Columbia and India all through vibrant, thought-about items.

For Van Cleef & Arpels, it’s an fascinating follow-up to earlier excessive jewelry collections, which have celebrated the spirit of journey and exploration. ‘This spirit of journey was additionally an inspiration for Van Cleef once we tackled the Jules Verne universe two years in the past,’ agrees Catherine Renier, CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels. ‘So there’s a match between the tales we inform, the way in which we have a look at a constructive imaginative and prescient of life. This adventurous spirit is one which pertains to us properly. Then it was the fantastic worlds of the depths of the earth, and right here it’s the very playful side of Robert Louis Stevenson’s story. Who would not need to bear in mind enjoying pirates? Who doesn’t need to discover a treasure chest? And who would not need to dream about journey? I believe the story is such a tremendous one which a method or one other, it speaks to everybody.’

The gathering attracts on distinctive Van Cleef & Arpels motifs, seen all through in transformable jewels, thriller set methods and playful symbols which nod to the excessive jewelry heritage of the maison. ‘I really feel that we now have a accountability to the craftspeople to speak about what they do, nevertheless it’s additionally necessary to the maison to maintain alive the incredible creations that they’ve delivered to us. That is why we nonetheless do the thriller setting, and that is why we proceed to do extraordinary objects just like the Onde Mystérieus. It is not an automaton, nevertheless it’s very deeply in our heritage. And it is necessary to maintain that heritage alive. For us, the safety of workmanship, the respect of the heritage and the work of the hand, is essential.’

It’s a consideration mirrored within the high quality of the stones themselves, which embody rainbow gradients of hues to deliver the pure inspirations to life. ‘For us, the stone search is a everlasting search,’ Renier provides. ‘We discover essentially the most wonderful and uncommon stones in the marketplace, after which it is a case of the place we combine them. Are they related to our story? Have they got the character that we’re in search of? So we do not begin a seek for a stone once we begin the gathering; it is very a lot a stone has to come back to life to adorn this assortment. So, as a stone professional, if you see a turquoise coming onto your tray and you understand the gathering is about Treasure Island and beauties of Caribbean is within the work, that is one that you simply cease on. It’s the identical with the Palmerie merveilleuse, the place emerald represents the inexperienced of the island.’

Though the gathering is rife with playful motifs, a literal translation of the literary work is eschewed for a deeper examination into the symbolism of excessive jewelry. ‘Whenever you speak about Treasure Island, you in all probability have a number of symbols that come to thoughts. You’ll take into consideration the pirate with the eyepatch and one leg. In the event you speak about treasure, you’ll in all probability have the picture of a chest stuffed with gold and stones. So the brand new assortment is literal to Stevenson’s textual content – very literal with the pirate clips which are named after three of the ebook’s characters. However we transcend this literal side of the gathering. We wish the general public, once they uncover the gathering, not particularly to have learn the ebook. I imply, I hope they’ve, nevertheless it’s actually for them to find the resonance between their very own world and reminiscences and what the gathering symbolises. As a result of, in the long run, it calls to the playfulness and childhood reminiscences that all of us have.’

vancleefarpels.com