A Hidden Garden

Van Cleef & Arpels MD of SEA and Australia HUGUES DE PINS on the big secret beyond the brand's "smallest boutique" yet.

- LYNETTE KOH

When luxury retailers open new boutiques, they frequently highlight how spacious these stores are, often employing the use of superlatives like "the largest" (whether among their other stores worldwide, or simply here on our shores). Imagine our surprise when Van Cleef & Arpels MD (South-east Asia and Australia) Hugues de Pins proudly shares with Prestige that the Parisian jewellery brand's latest premises at Raffles Hotel houses its "smallest boutique in the world".

The Frenchman, however, is specifically referring to the retail area that makes up part of Les Jardins Secrets, the new Van Cleef & Arpels boutique at Raffles Hotel's shopping and dining arcade. Located at the front of the boutique, the modest 16sqm retail space showcases collections that will be familiar to fans of the brand - the four-leaf clover-inspired Alhambra, Perlée with its golden beads, and the flower-shaped Frivole.

This is just the beginning. At the back of the store, a "secret door" leads to the real star of this space: An exhibition room nearly four times larger than the space dedicated to retail. Precious Nature, the first exhibition to be held here, showcases 22 exquisite Van Cleef & Arpels pieces 15 from the brand's own archives, and seven on loan from collectors.

A FRESH SETTING