A butterfly takes flight on the between-the-finger ring.
Source:
https://scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/article/3168382/style-edit-van-cleef-arpels-embraces-spring-its-new-two Luxury
STYLE Edit: Van Cleef & Arpels embraces spring with its new Two Butterfly collection featuring novelties in turquoise and diamond, adding to its nature-inspired series like Frivole
- Spring brings hope and inspiration as nature awakes around us and the Parisian jewellery brand translates this spirit into its Frivole and Two Butterfly collections
- The pendant, between-the-finger ring and earrings add turquoise for the first time, a material valued since the ancient Egyptians and Aztecs
The earrings, pendant and between-the-finger ring in the latest Two Butterfly collection show this year’s striking new mix of yellow gold, white gold, diamonds and turquoise. Photos: Van Cleef & Arpels
Spring has long been one of the most important sources of inspiration for Van Cleef & Arpels. Each year, the renowned Parisian jewellery maison welcomes the arrival of the year’s most optimistic season with new pieces in its Frivole collection, which celebrate spring’s arrival with spectacular creations based around delightful floral patterns.
But that’s not all, for the house is particularly fond of butterflies. Symbols of the beauty of nature and of its benevolence, they have been a part of the Van Cleef & Arpels aesthetic since the house was founded more than a century ago.
For more than two decades, the house has made these most beautiful and delicate of creatures the centrepieces of its Two Butterfly collection, with a selection of new pieces marking the arrival of spring each year. Newly introduced this year are a pendant, a between-the-finger ring and a pair of earrings, all of which take vibrant coloration in a new direction with the use of turquoise.
Shimmering examples of the Two Butterfly collection.
The butterfly on the pendant is depicted in that material, tilted to one side as if in flight, trying to pursue the diamond that pops up unexpectedly in the piece’s chain, close to the butterfly’s flapping wings. Both the earrings and the between-the-finger ring take a bold, asymmetrical approach, pairing a butterfly in turquoise with another in a combination of yellow gold, white gold and diamonds. Separated on the earrings or nestling next to each other on the ring, they form a dramatic contrast that’s sure to be a talking point.
Pieces in the Two Butterfly collection have previously been made in a dazzling range of materials, including yellow and pink sapphires, diamonds, tsavorite garnets, mother-of-pearl and lapis lazuli, but this is the collection’s first foray into turquoise. It’s a material that has been valued since antiquity for its rich, resonant hue: the ancient Egyptians and the Aztecs were notably both fans.
Positioning the turquoise on a Two Butterfly collection piece.
The turquoise used in the current collection has been selected for its purity and uniformity of colour, showcased alongside the finest of diamonds, all rated from D to F for colour and from IF to VVS2 for clarity.
Those precious diamonds are set in three different ways: a bead setting for the pavé motifs, a prong setting for the marquise-cut diamond representing the butterfly’s body, and a closed setting for the pendant’s round diamond.
Another richly decorated butterfly necklace using gemstones of various colours.
The butterfly has been woven into the history of Van Cleef & Arpels since its earliest days, first appearing on one of its pieces in 1906, the same year the maison was founded. Since then, it has been depicted in materials including wood, lacquer, enamel, mother-of-pearl, and precious and ornamental stones. It has appeared on everything from clips to cigarette cases, but it was in 2001 that the Two Butterfly collection was born, along with its first between-the-finger ring, in yellow sapphires and diamonds.
It was joined in 2010 by the Butterfly Signature high jewellery collection, as these spectacular creatures continue to take centre stage on the house’s most coveted pieces.
Together with the annual Frivole collection, they signal Van Cleef & Arpels’ renewal of hope for the year ahead along with its continued dedication to bring a little of nature’s wonder to each wearer of its pieces.