Van Cleef & Arpels is paying homage to its Rose de Noël collection – created in 1970 – with new creations in carnelian, onyx and lapis lazuli. The flowers, with their soft clean curves, bloom like so many promises of happiness, ready to be picked. The petals’ harmonious arrangement and the quality of the selected stones reflect all the Maison’s High Jewellery expertise.


SIGNATURE COLLECTION

Perpetuating an emblematic Van Cleef & Arpels aesthetic, the Rose de Noël collection is today made up of clips, earrings and pendants (which can also be worn as clips). The new models give pride of place to three materials: deep black onyx, orangey-red carnelian and dazzling lapis lazuli of an intense blue.

On each piece, six rounded petals spread out asymmetrically, in a play of varying sizes, angles and heights. This three-dimensional approach enables the natural movement of flowers to be reproduced with precision and elegance. Pendants and earrings appear freshly bloomed against the skin, while the clips can be worn in a multitude of ways, to suit every mood and occasion.

At the heart of the creations, six round diamonds rest on pistils of golden thread, while on the back an openwork gold plate molds itself to the contours of the petals – testimony to the Maison’s attention to hidden details along with visible ones.


NATURAL MATERIALS

Adorned with carnelian, onyx and lapis lazuli, these creations reflect Van Cleef & Arpels’ attachment to hard stones, selected for their beauty and dazzling hues according to the most stringent criteria.

An orangey-red variety of chalcedony, carnelian is among the first stones to have been used for jewellery in various cultures. Its warm shade evokes the values of joy and happiness. For its creations, the Maison mainly selects stones from Brazil with a deep and even colour.

In use since ancient times and enduringly fashionable in Art Deco jewellery, onyx is today one of the most sought-after hard stones in Van Cleef & Arpels’ jewellery collections. The Maison mainly uses onyx from Brazil, which is remarkable for its rich deep black colour and highly polished surface, which reflects the light like a mirror.

Lapis lazuli takes its name from the Latin word lapis, meaning stone, and the Arab word azul (blue). The stone is characterised by it intense blue colour, mingled with specks of pyrite. In Egypt and Mesopotamia it was used to craft lavish objects intended for royalty, before acting as a pigment for painters.

Today, the stones chosen by Van Cleef & Arpels for its creations (mainly from Afghanistan) stand out for their deep and uniform colour.


PROMISE OF HAPPINESS

Daisies, poppies and pansies: since its foundation, the Maison has drawn on nature as an eternal source of inspiration, translating all the delicacy and vitality of flora into jewels. In 1970, it launched the Rose de Noël collection, named after a flower with the particularity of blooming in winter. Also called the hellebore, it flowers during periods of cold weather like a promise of love and happiness.

First created in pink coral, yellow gold and diamonds, the pieces reflected the creative effervescence of the 1970s with their prominent colours and broad palette of materials. Since then, the collection has taken on joyful variations that associate the sparkle of diamonds with the gleam of gray or white mother-of-pearl, coral, turquoise or chalcedony.


SAVOIR-FAIRE IN FULL BLOOM

The Rose de Noël collection combines gold and stone craftsmanship to reflect all the Maison’s jewellery-making expertise. The stones are first selected according to the most stringent criteria, before being cut into shape and polished to accentuate their brilliance. Then comes the crucial step of matching, when petals are selected according to their appearance and colour to compose a single harmonious corolla.

The gold is worked with equal intricacy. Each element is shaped and polished by hand. At the tips of the pistils, the diamonds are put in place and adjusted by the stone-setter. Finally, the petals and mounting are assembled before a final polish lends a crowning radiance to the ensemble.