Interface News Reporter | Huang Shan
Interface News Editor | Lou Jingqin
Van Cleef & Arpels' High Jewelry collection meets the secret mountains and forests of Chongzuo, Guangxi
In March 2018, a giant white diamond weighing 910 carats was acquired by an anonymous buyer from Belgium for US$40 million (about 289.8 million yuan).
The diamond was discovered in the Kingdom of Lesotho in southern Africa, and the miner who discovered it, Gem Diamonds, said it was the fifth largest diamond in the world and named it "Lesotho Legend".
The "Lesotho Legend" rough diamond is of excellent quality, with a D-grade of unpolished color, which is already the highest grade of the diamond, and its clarity is flawless, making it a rare Type 2A diamond.
In April 2024, six years after its launch, the Lesotho Legend was brought to Chongzuo, Guangxi, China, for display. This time, it was the French fine jewelry brand Van Cleef & Arpels who brought the legendary diamond to the Sino-Vietnamese border town.
According to Van Cleef & Arpels, its diamond cutting workshop proposes more than 200 cuts to the Lesotho Legend rough, which is ultimately cut into 67 diamonds of different shapes and sizes, such as oval, emerald and princess. In collaboration with Van Cleef & Arpels designers, gemmologists and High Jewelry ateliers, the diamonds are used in a series of High Jewelry creations.
Van Cleef & Arpels has named the new High Jewelry collection, "Legend of diamonds", which features 25 pieces of Mystery Set and two High Jewelry collections, White Diamond Variations.
Perhaps the most eye-catching group of High Jewellery pieces is the Chevron Mystérieux necklace set with "Lesotho Legend" diamonds and high-quality emeralds.
Van Cleef & Arpels used the 1950s stacked evening wear as inspiration for this necklace. At the center of the placket necklace, densely set with white diamonds, emeralds and sapphires, three pear-shaped diamonds hang overhang.
The three pear-shaped diamonds weigh 31.24 carats, 12.18 carats and 12.07 carats, respectively. The large diamond in the center is also connected to the necklace by a round diamond weighing 1.08 carats. The necklace is priced in nine figures in yuan.
This necklace uses many of Van Cleef & Arpels' signature techniques. For example, the emerald on the necklace uses Van Cleef & Arpels' signature Mystery Set, which accentuates the gemstone's shine and size, making it visually more sparkling.
For example, the necklace continues Van Cleef & Arpels' tradition of "transformable jewelry" in its wearable design, offering collectors six ways to wear it. The center diamond hanging from the center of the necklace can be detached separately and attached to Van Cleef & Arpels' additional chain to create a simple and elegant diamond pendant. In addition, the two smaller diamonds on the left and right can be removed and converted into earrings for wearing.
These techniques are frequently featured in the Van Cleef & Arpels High Jewelry creations on display in Chongzuo.
In the Romeo and Juliet-themed High Jewellery collection, a convertible necklace called Ceremony features 14 emerald-cut emeralds with a total weight of more than 42 carats.
The entire necklace is embellished with smaller emeralds, light purple sapphires, tsavorite garnets and diamonds to support the 14 emerald center stones.
Another convertible necklace from the collection, called Alleanza, features 318 rubies and a 15.53-carat pear-shaped diamond hanging from the center. The pendant part of this necklace can be detached separately and worn as a pendant.
Haute couture also has a profound influence on Van Cleef & Arpels' jewelry designs. In the Diamond Legend White Diamond Variations High Jewellery collection, there is a "Diamond Tie" necklace set with all-white diamonds.
The necklace is inspired by Van Cleef & Arpels' Cravate necklace for the Duchess of Windsor in the 1930s. The entire necklace is made up of three rows of chain straps, accented by a knot at the center.
To give the necklace a sense of fluidity, Van Cleef & Arpels keeps the top band in place and the metal structure of the lower two rows makes it soft and flexible.
At the tail of the Diamond Tie necklace chain, three "Lesotho Legend" diamonds, weighing 2.51, 1.50 and 1.01 carats, are draped and cut in a ding-square cut – a diamond cut popular in the Art Deco and Art Nouveau periods.
MidnightOpera House uses emeralds to present oriental charm
The promotion of colored gemstones in the Chinese market is accelerating.
Recently, Gemfields, an international miner and promoter of colored gemstones, announced that it has partnered with Chinese designer jewelry brand Midnight Opera House to launch a high jewelry collection, "Flower Time Paintings", which revolves around emeralds mined in Zambia and is inspired by oriental aesthetics.
This is the first time Gemfields has collaborated with a Chinese designer brand. Gemfields supplied Zambian emeralds to Midnight Opera House, while the latter's founder and designer, Yu Gengyi, led the design.
The three pieces of the high-bead collection are one of the three pieces, including a black onyx-encrusted Zambian emerald mother-of-pearl necklace called "Delicate Narcissus", which is inspired by the art of oriental bonsai.
The piece features a necklace strung with three saltwater pearls, and in the center of the necklace is a vase containing daffodils, which are commonly found in the East. The vase-shaped part has a strong classical baroque style and is carved from black natural agate. The black onyx bottle is set with five round diamond-shaped Zambian emeralds of various sizes, arranged in a symmetrical manner. At the same time, the bottom of the bottle is also inlaid with diamonds, and the whole structure of the bottle has a strong Art Deco style.
The daffodil bouquet above the vase is made of 18-carat white gold set with diamonds and mother-of-pearl. At the bottom of the pearl necklace, Yu Gengyi also designed three pear-shaped Zambian emerald gemstones, which echo the emeralds on the vase.
In addition to the main necklace, Yu Gengyi also designed two earrings as a match.
Inspired by oriental window scenes, the oval earrings are inspired by the Oriental windowscape and feature a natural black onyx background to illustrate the image of a "silent night", followed by a floral motif of gold sand and hand-carved mother-of-pearl, embellished with 16 round-cut emeralds.
Another pair of teardrop-shaped earrings is inspired by Ming Dynasty painter Qiu Ying's "Double-Hooked Orchid", which uses egg-shaped faceted Zambian emeralds as a connecting point between two black onyx cut into a teardrop-shaped shape. The base of the earrings is wrapped in gold wire coils and embellished with round diamond-cut emeralds and gemstones, outlining the oriental charm of lush flora and fauna.
Qeelin "Garden Dreams" High Jewellery Collection
Colored gemstones are widely used in high jewelry pieces with oriental imagery.
For example, Qeelin, a luxury jewellery brand, has recently released its Bamboo High Jewellery collection, which showcases the charm of oriental bamboo with a variety of coloured gemstones such as jadeite, emerald, ruby and sapphire.
One of the white gold diamond necklaces, the Qeelin unicorn uses the technique of cutting high-quality jadeite, then connecting it into the shape of emerald bamboo, and then wrapping it in 18K white gold partially paved with diamonds as a bamboo slub, and finally creating a high jewelry piece with a distinct bamboo shape.
The bottom of this necklace is clasped with the iconic panda shape of the Qeelin unicorn, which is surrounded by diamonds and holds bamboo leaves made of emeralds.
There is also a long necklace in white gold, with a precision-cut jadeite rough at the waist and bottom, and a diamond link at the bamboo joints. The necklace is fastened with a pavé diamond and an orchid clip with a ruby in the middle, giving it a subtle and elegant look.
Meanwhile, this orchid-inspired Bamboo High Jewellery necklace is paired with earrings and rings from the collection. White gold diamond rings feature large natural diamonds, while white gold slub earrings feature pink sapphires in the orchid center.