Heavenly Dreams: The poetic nature of the new Van Cleef & Arpels collection

February 22, 2021

By Katerina Perez

10 min read

Looking up at the sky, marvelling at its immensity, and striving to understand it, Van Cleef & Arpels has permitted its imagination to wander about the infinite universe. Galaxies of stones, nebulae of motifs and constellations of craftsmanship – the poetic character of the cosmos is revealed in a new space-themed collection: Sous les Etoiles.

Artistic depictions, produced over the centuries by keen astronomers, writers and artists, have fuelled the imaginations of the maison’s designers, experienced gemmologists and artisans. The result is a vast multitude of jewellery that sits at the crossroads of Van Cleef & Arpels’ emblematic style and free creativity. The brand’s first celestial creation dates to 1907: a star-shaped pearl and diamond brooch, which featured in one of the first Van Cleef & Arpels ledgers. The dynamic lines of the freshly designed 150 pieces in the Sous les Étoiles collection represent a fascinating new vision of the intergalactic landscape.

Pieces from the Van Cleef & Arpels Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery Collection, including the Ciel de Minuit necklace and Galaxie Tourbillon clip

A gouache painting of the Ciel de Minuit necklace from the Van Cleef & Arpels Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery Collection

The Ciel de Minuit necklace from the Van Cleef & Arpels Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery Collection is crafted with lapis lazuli

Crafting the Van Cleef & Arpels Ciel de Minuit necklace from the Sous les Étoiles space-inspired high jewellery collection

The lapis lazuli used in the Van Cleef & Arpels Ciel de Minuit necklace is dotted with pyrite and accented with diamonds and sapphires

The maison has always been interested in that moment when the observation of nature meets poetry and imagination, says Nicholas Bose, President and CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels.

10 years ago, the Les Voyages Extraordinaires high jewellery collection was released, inspired by Jules Verne’s novel De la Terre à la Lune (From the Earth to the Moon, 1865). To honour tradition when creating Sous les Etoiles, the company relied on the concept of space as described by the Ancient Greek author Lucian of Samosata; the inspirational 17th century novel Somnium (Latin for “The Dream”) on lunar astronomy by Johannes Kepler; the works of the 19th century French astronomer and writer Nicolas Camille Flammarion, which are perfectly illustrated and translated into every language in the world; and incredible shots of the cosmic landscape thanks to the wonders of modern technology.

Van Cleef & Arpels Bonne Étoile necklace with two pear-shaped emeralds of 4.25 carats and 3.97 carats, a pear-shaped pink sapphire, green tourmaline, aquamarines, tsavorite garnets and diamonds from the Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery collection

Van Cleef & Arpels Antennae reversible necklace with 417 carats of pink and mauve Madagascan sapphires, plus rubies and diamonds, from the Sous les Étoiles high jewellery collection

Van Cleef & Arpels Acontia necklace with a 5.23 carat octagonal-cut Colombian emerald from the Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery collection

Van Cleef & Arpels Trésor Astrale necklace with a 31.17 carat Sri Lankan sapphire and a 22.82 carat Burmese sapphire from the Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery collection

Van Cleef & Arpels Univers necklace with detachable diamond clip from the Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery collection

Van Cleef & Arpels Trifide transformable long necklace from the Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery collection

Van Cleef & Arpels Quasar necklace with 25 oval-cut rubies of 37.50 carats, pink sapphires and diamonds from the Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery collection

Van Cleef & Arpels Eclipse Solaire transformable long necklace from the Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery collection

Van Cleef & Arpels Apollo onyx transformable pendant and clip from the Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery collection

Originally painted in gouache on paper, the collection was brought to life with a rich colour palette provided by some of our planet’s most stunning mineralogical treasures: from emeralds, rubies, sapphires, spinels, imperial topaz, tourmalines, spessartine garnets and aquamarines to lapis lazuli, turquoise and onyx. The deep blue colour of sapphires, accentuated by a variety of cuts, is matched by the brilliance of diamonds and lapis lazuli with pyrite dots in the Ciel de Minuit necklace dedicated to the Milky Way. And in the double-sided Antennae necklace, a representation of a star, the gemmologists did not hesitate to include 154 Madagascan sapphires of blue-pink colours and shades weighing a total 417.33 carats. It took more than two years to find them, not unusual when it comes to creating high jewellery!

A gouache drawing of the Van Cleef & Arpels Halley necklace from the Sous les Étoiles high jewellery collection

The Van Cleef & Arpels Halley necklace from the Sous les Étoiles high jewellery collection was designed to look like the fiery tale of the eponymous comet and contains an 11.29 carat fancy vivid yellow pear-shaped diamond that can also be worn in a matching ring

The Van Cleef & Arpels Halley necklace and ring can ‘share’ this 11.29 carat fancy vivid yellow pear-shaped diamond

The transformable Van Cleef & Arpels Halley ring from the Sous les Étoiles high jewellery collection

The transformable Van Cleef & Arpels Halley ring with a pear-shaped fancy vivid yellow diamond and pear-shaped white diamond

The Halley necklace, made with both classic colourless and yellow diamonds, is expressive and dynamic, dedicated to the bright comet of the same name whose passage can be observed from Earth every 75 years. Another highlight among the yellow-coloured works is the Hélios transformable long necklace, named after the Ancient Greek sun god. The elegant composition of diamonds and cultured pearls is modelled around a splendid yellow sapphire from Sri Lanka weighing over 50 carats. The maison’s jewellers have paid great attention to the articulation of numerous elements to ensure the overall flexibility and visual appeal of the necklace.

Van Cleef & Arpels Helios transformable long necklace and the Saturne clip from the Sous les Étoiles high jewellery collection

Incidentally, did you know that there are stars much brighter and larger than the Sun? The maison dedicated a 13-carat sapphire ring to one of them, the blue and white coloured Rigel star, and the Céphéide set to another of the same name. The set includes 11 chalcedony cabochons weighing 159.72 carats attached to a detachable brooch pendant, while 21 baguette-cut two-tone grey-blue tanzanites accentuate the necklace. These are accompanied by diamonds, tsavorites and sapphires. This unusual gemmological set is especially spectacular. And this is not the only one that contains stones not usually found in the high jewellery collections of Place Vendôme maisons. For example, the Temple dome ring is made with petrified wood and the Etoile Binaire necklace has 63 jade beads, a feature more typical of Asian jewellery.

The Van Cleef & Arpels transformable Céphéide necklace with 11 mauve chalcedony cabochons of 159.72 carats and a detachable clip with grey-blue tanzanites from the Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery collection

Van Cleef & Arpels Céphéide necklace with mauve chalcedony cabochons from the Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery collection

The Van Cleef & Arpels Céphéide necklace can be worn without the pendant as a single line necklace, complete with chalcedony cabochons and diamonds

The Van Cleef & Arpels Céphéide pendant/brooch, which can be worn alone, with its two-tone tanzanites

Van Cleef & Arpels Ultraviolet earrings from the Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery collection

Awash with innovations, the collection contains motifs and techniques of traditional significance to the brand. In the central composition of the Boucle Cosmique necklace, which depicts the Thor’s Helmet nebula, sapphires are fixed using the Mystery Set technique, patented by the company in 1933. The Déesse Mercure, Neptune and Fée Cassiopée brooches, whose graceful appearances are inspired by Mercury, the Solar System’s most remote planet (Neptune), and the beauty of the Cassiopeia constellation respectively, expand the pantheon of diamond-faced ballerinas and fairies that have populated the Van Cleef & Arpels universe since the early 1940s.

Van Cleef & Arpels Déesse Mercure and Déesse Neptune brooches from the Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery collection

Van Cleef & Arpels Temple Lapis ring from the Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery collection

Van Cleef & Arpels Pimprenelle Fairy clip brooch from the Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery collection

The Van Cleef & Arpels Sentier d’étoiles bracelet with a 69.23 carat Sri Lankan blue sapphire cabochon, diamonds, yellow sapphires and tsavorites from the Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery collection

Van Cleef & Arpels Fee des Astres clip brooch from the celestial inspired Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery collection

Van Cleef & Arpels Ison bracelet with Mystery Set rubies and diamonds from the Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery collection

Van Cleef & Arpels Aurigae ring with blue sapphire from the Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery collection

Van Cleef & Arpels West ring with a Burmese cabochon-cut star ruby from the Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery collection

Van Cleef & Arpels Nebuleuse clip brooch from the Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery collection

Van Cleef & Arpels Perseides bracelet with cushion-cut Burmese sapphires of 13.03 and 12.16 carats from the Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery collection

The Van Cleef & Arpels Univers detachable clip brooch, which can also be worn as a necklace, from the Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery collection

The Van Cleef & Arpels Doubles Galaxies Saphir Mauve brooch from the Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery collection with a 7.24 carat Madagascan mauve sapphire

The Van Cleef & Arpels Galaxie Tourbillon brooch with a 9.20 carat blue tourmaline, sapphires, spinels, onyx, spessartite garnet, lapis lazuli, turquoise and diamonds from the Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery collection

My personal favourite is the Ellen bangle with a 9.03 carat Colombian emerald, sapphires, black spinels and diamonds. It was inspired by an existing Van Cleef & Arpels work from Ellen Barkin’s private collection. A similarly shaped bracelet belonging to the American actress was made with nine beautiful emeralds, a sprinkling of diamonds and a volumetric gold rim decorated with engraved stars and diamond inserts. The bracelet sold for $408,000 at Christie’s in 2006.

Van Cleef & Arpels Étoile Binaire transformable necklace with 63 jade beads, two asscher cut diamonds, pink sapphires, rubies and further diamonds

In keeping with tradition, the collection also includes jewellery that tells the time. The novelty timepiece Planétarium follows the path of other pieces with a Midnight Planetarium aventurine dial depicting the movement of the planets. The Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth and the Moon all come to life thanks to an exclusive watch developed in collaboration with Christiaan van der Klaauw. The look has not been reworked much, but the classic bracelet is replaced with a cuff that is completely covered with precious stones: coloured sapphires, spessartines, spinels and diamonds.

Van Cleef & Arpels Planétarium timepiece with sapphires, spessartite garnet, black spinel, aventurine, mother of pearl, diamonds, turquoise and enamel

A closer look at the Van Cleef & Arpels Planétarium high jewellery watch with a movement designed by Christiaan van der Klaauw

The Van Cleef & Arpels Sous les Étoiles High Jewellery collection is inspired by the infinite universe

The Sous les Etoiles collection includes about 150 pieces that pay tribute to the captivating beauty of the starry sky and the extraordinary skills of Van Cleef & Arpels’ jewellers.

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