A beautiful homage to Rose de Noël

  |   01-11-2016

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First created in 1970, the Rose de Noël collection was 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 grey or white mother-of-pearl, coral, turquoise or chalcedony.

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Now, the high jewellery brand has created a recent addition to the line in orangey-red carnelian, deep black onyx and lapis lazuli of an intense blue. The Rose de Noël collection is today made up of clips, earrings and pendants (which can also be worn as clips). 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.

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Carnelian is among the first stones to have been used for jewellery in various cultures. The Maison mainly selects stones from Brazil with a deep and even colour. 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 color, 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.

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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.

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