Van Cleef & Arpels have launched a new collection inspired by four fairytales, originally written by the famed Brothers Grimm, who popularized traditional folk tales in the 19th century including Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White.
The maison’s new high jewellery collection ‘Quatre Contes de Grimm’ brings together an astonishing assortment of 80 jewels and reinterprets; The Twelve Dancing Princesses, The Golden Bird, The Three Feathers, and Town Musicians of Bremen. The carefully selected gemstones and Van Cleef & Arpels intriguing blend of colour combinations help to add sparkle to the main characters.
The first reinterpretation which originated from two volumes published in 1812 and 1815, is the tale of The Twelve Dancing Princesses. It sees jewels imbibing the enchanted ball attend by the sisters each night. The Van Cleef & Arpels artisans created a different clip for each princess: Each ballgown, rendered in gold, diamonds and gemstones, is unique, while the position of each princess also may differ slightly. The one common element to each is the princess’s face, crafted as a rose-cut diamond. Here, a trio of princess clips: Princesse Éos, in pink and mauve sapphires and diamonds; Princesse Danica, in yellow sapphires and diamonds; and Princesse Héméra, in blue and mauve sapphires, emeralds, tsavorite garnets, and diamond
The Rubans de princesse necklace symbolises the coquetry of the sisters through silk-like ribbons of round and baguette-cut diamonds, suspending three remarkable pear-shaped stones weighing a total of 22.87 carats that can be detached and worn as a pendant and pair of earrings
The Golden Bird, which sees the Oiseau d’or clip in yellow sapphires, spessartine garnets, onyx and diamonds joining the Maison’s portfolio of humming birds, lovebirds and birds of paradise that have featured in Van Cleef’s jewels since their foundation is the second reinterpretation.
As the title of the fairy-tale suggests feather feature are the focus of the third reinterpretation of The Three Feathers, which sees the remarkable Panache Mystérieux clip utilising the Maison’s Vitrail Mystery Set technique in an exquisite palette of coloured sapphires with diamonds.
The final reinterpretation sees the story of the Town Muscians of Breme. The Quartet necklace, features an 11.39-carat cushion-cut pink sapphire surrounded by fire opals, pink sapphires, spessartite garnets, pink spinels, cultured pearls, gold mother-of-pearl, and diamonds. The pendant is removable
The 'Quatre Contes de Grimm' collection, a deluxe combination of materials and innovative techniques in the earrings, bracelets, necklaces, brooches and rings is literally and figuratively a fairy tale come true.
