The French Maison enchants the spirit anew with new renditions from its signature Perl&eacute;e collection.

Perl&eacute;e collection may have made its debut in 2008, but its defining golden beads hark back to the 1920s, when they first shone as a decorative effect, design accent or border of a stone on Van Cleef &amp; Arpels designs.
&ldquo;The very idea of Perl&eacute;e is to showcase the golden bead, a Van Cleef &amp; Arpels motif that has become emblematic. It has its origins in granulation, which is probably one of the most ancient jewellery techniques, dating back to Ancient Greece or even earlier. Golden beads have been a decorative element since 1948 with the Couscous and Bagatelle creations. They have adorned the Alhambra collection since its birth in 1968 as well. In the Perl&eacute;e creations, the golden bead is somewhat elevated from being an accessory to a central element. Its round form injects joy and dynamism into the pieces. The Perl&eacute;e collection adds a playful depiction of geometry to the world of Van Cleef &amp; Arpels,&rdquo; says Nicolas Bos, Richemont Group CEO and former Van Cleef &amp; Arpels CEO, in a press release statement.

Evolving across the decades, these precious spheres embellished the Maison&rsquo;s humorous clips, as well as its fluid and flexible silhouettes of the 1960s, before being incarnated as braids in the Twist collection, alongside coral, turquoise and cultured pearls. In 1968, the Alhambra collection famously adopted the beads to accompany Van Cleef &amp; Arpels&rsquo; iconic symbols of luck as a delicate golden contour.
As the leading star and anchor motif of the Perl&eacute;e collection, the Maison&rsquo;s illustrious and enduring golden beads have been on a transformative journey. Today, they continue to inject a joyful and lively spirit into the Maison&rsquo;s diverse design renditions: Perl&eacute;e pearls of gold, Perl&eacute;e couleurs, Perl&eacute;e diamonds, Perl&eacute;e clovers and Perl&eacute;e signature lines, as well as watches of precious and sparkling elegance.

A GILDED HYMN

This year, the Perl&eacute;e family unveils new additions to the Perl&eacute;e Couleurs collection, giving pride of place to cabochons of hard stones. Comprising a bracelet, pendant and between the finger ring, these novelties &mdash; crafted in yellow gold and set with diamonds and turquoise &mdash; juxtapose refinement with playfulness. Basking in the warm overtones of yellow gold, they boast the singular beauty and curves of turquoise cabochons, augmented by a luminous border of fine golden beads to exude sophisticated harmony and buoyant charm.
Revisiting a style introduced in 2017, the new Perl&eacute;e Couleurs bracelet iteration presents an open bangle, fully studded with a multitude of golden beads that unfold like a shimmering cascade around the wrist. The between the finger ring is adorned with two rows of golden beads circling the smaller diamond-paved dome, while the larger turquoise cabochon dome is rimmed with three rows of gold spheres. On the pendant, the turquoise cabochons are gracefully edged with golden beads to emphasise their circular lines.

TIME IS GOLDEN

Next, the Maison&rsquo;s golden beads traverse to the jewellery watch domain, assembling a delightful dance of cheerful associations to adorn a duo of Perl&eacute;e Toi &amp; Moi secret watches. Inspired by the Maison&rsquo;s &ldquo;You and Me&rdquo; jewels showcasing the union of two ornamental stones, these wristwatches are decked with the intense colour of contrasting stones on an open bangle entirely composed of golden beads.
Offered in yellow gold, the jewellery watches bring two differently sized spherical motifs face to face &mdash; the first variant is set with green jasper and rose quartz, while the second spotlights blue quartz and chrysoprase. The Perl&eacute;e Toi &amp; Moi pair, powered by a quartz movement, features a mother-of-pearl dial with a bezel highlighted by an enchanting halo of a row of round diamonds and golden beads each.

SAVOIR-FAIRE AT HEART

Diving into the Maison&rsquo;s know-how in the creation of thePerl&eacute;e collection, the golden bead technique takes pride of place, entailing the collaboration between different craftsmen. Produced using the lost wax casting processand precious metal, be it yellow, rose or white gold, thesespheres can be manifested in a range of diameters. Their precise and intricate forms are the result of the expertise ofthe Maison&rsquo;s jewellers, reworking them individually by hand to give a balanced and consistent roundness to the ensemble. For the final touch, several stages of polishing are necessary for the beads to display a smooth surface that amplifies theirbrilliant effects.
With its jewellery watch creations, the Maison&rsquo;s French and Swiss savoir-faire join forces &mdash; the gold bracelet of the Perl&eacute;e secret watch is produced in French workshops, while the dials and movements are assembled in Van Cleef &amp; Arpels&rsquo; Watchmaking Workshops, in Geneva. The partnership between these time-honoured crafts gives birth to the Maison&rsquo;s poetic watches that famously evoke enchantment through the art of telling the time. A dream to wear, the Perl&eacute;e Toi &amp; Moi secret watches make a statement not just with their aesthetic, but comfort-wise as the links of golden beads have been assembled to create a watch bracelet of extreme flexibility, hugging the wrist like a second skin.

Finally, the selection of materials is paramount in Van Cleef &amp; Arpels&rsquo; quest for excellence. From precious to ornamental stones, the Maison spares no expense in choosing the most beautiful and lustrous specimens in line with the strictest criteria of quality. These new Perl&eacute;e jewellery and watch creations are no exceptions to the rule, having the privy of the Maison&rsquo;s choicest materials. In particular, the turquoise hand-picked for the Perl&eacute;e Couleurs pieces is extremely rare, characterised by its intense and harmonious colour. The mother-of-pearl featured has also been meticulously examined by the expert gemologists.
In addition, the Maison qualifies all the diamonds used with the highest gemological standards: D to F for colour, and IF to VVS for clarity. The phrase &ldquo;shine like a diamond&rdquo; aptly describes how these precious stones sparkle on the Perl&eacute;e creations, courtesy of an ingenious openwork structure that allows the light to pass through.

Van Cleef & Arpels launches new Perlée Couleurs and Toi & Moi iterations

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