HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

Van Cleef & Arpels deepens its century-long dialogue with the natural world with the Flowerlace and Fleurs d'Hawaï collections.

- By CANDICE CHAN

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.