Van Cleef & Arpels Takes to the High Seas
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“Treasure Island,” Robert Louis Stevenson’s adventure novel, was the inspiration for the Paris jeweler’s new high jewelry collection.
With its latest high jewelry collection, Van Cleef & Arpels took to the high seas, figuratively speaking, with Miami as its first port of call.
On Nov. 17, at the waterfront estate Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, the house revealed 125 pieces from a 300-jewel collection based on “Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson. The 19th-century adventure novel was the latest in the jeweler’s literary inspirations, which have included works by Jules Verne and fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault.
“What I love about the book is the level of detail,” Catherine Rénier, the house’s chief executive, said during a recent interview in Paris, “the beautiful descriptions of each character and every leg of the journey.”
The house has long created pieces referencing ballerinas, princes and fairies. This collection included clips in the shape of pirates — named John, Jim and David, after characters in the novel — which were hand-carved in green wax, then cast in precious metal using the lost wax technique, to allow a high level of detail and contrast in their costumes and features.
Figures not directly linked to the book but meant to represent treasure and lost civilizations — such as representations of the Mayan gods of wind and sky, the king of Uxmal and a Tikal dancer — were wrought in gold with diamonds and pink and blue sapphires. (All pieces are price on application; the rest of the collection will be introduced as it is completed.)
