Elements Of Style

From nature to couture, Van Cleef & Arpels chronicles 80 years of stylistic inspiration using only diamonds.

- Celine Yap

DEDICATING AN ENTIRE high jewellery collection to one specific category of precious stone might strike one as being excessively ambitious, but it’s a move that Van Cleef & Arpels has taken numerous times. In 2019, it unveiled Treasure of Rubies, an ode to the rare and majestic flaming red stone. Three years prior in 2016, it presented Émeraude en Majesté, exhibiting the beauty and subtle nuances of vibrant green emeralds.

Most recently in 2022, Van Cleef & Arpels returned to flawless, colourless diamonds as it embarked on Legend of Diamonds, its most compelling and challenging diamond-intensive endeavour yet. Unravelling over two chapters, the collection was a stellar showcase of Van Cleef & Arpels’ unique savoir-faire, where its love for gemstones is equalled only by its gift for artisanship.

The first chapter focused primarily on a jaw-dropping 910-carat Type IIa rough stone, from which 67 individual diamonds of varying sizes and shapes were cut. Legend of Diamonds – 25 Mystery Set Jewels reminisced the early years when Van Cleef & Arpels crossed paths with such legendary stones as the 60-plus-carat pear-shaped Prince Edward of York and the 31-carat Blue Heart, to name just two.