Titled Sous les Étoiles — or Heavenly Dreams in English — the collection takes inspiration from the stars both within our galaxy and beyond.

As with most high jewellery lines, Van Cleef &amp; Arpels&#39; latest collection is an exercise in finesse, a display of the house&#39;s savoir faire, and the stunning, rare gemstones that it has discovered. But the new Sous les &Eacute;toiles goes a step beyond the material and tangible, with designs that invoke the infinite wonders and mystery of the cosmos.

For the collection&#39;s 150 new creations, the house&#39;s designers looked to many places for inspiration. Pop culture was one: The aptly-named Stanley bracelets were named for movie director Stanley Kubrick&#39;s seminal 1968 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and bears the same graphic motif as its iconic poster does.

Packshot_JH007942-Stanley_bracelet-01_2031744.png

ab48219cf6dbf7451763c7d941815a47.png

The stars themselves, of course, served as an indispensable guide, as seen in the Cosmic Loop necklace. Inspired by Thor&#39;s Helmet &mdash; a real-life nebula several thousand light years from our own solar system &mdash; this necklace is the culmination of every iota of the maison&#39;s jewellery-making expertise.

The necklace isn&#39;t just remarkable for its harmonious sapphires &mdash; as well as the ensemble of tsavorite garnets, diamonds and coloured sapphires that accompany it &mdash; but for the gorgeous fluid lines that grant it the illusion of movement. How that is achieved is thanks to Van Cleef &amp; Arpels&#39; patented Mystery Set technique, which enables the underlying metalwork to &#39;disappear&#39; in order to fully highlight the precious stones.

boucle-cosmique.png

It wasn&#39;t just hard scientific facts that the maison based their creations on. Its designers also looked to legends and fables for inspiration &mdash; as seen in the Tr&eacute;sor astral necklace. Based on Mizar and Alcor &mdash; two stars that are visible by the naked eye &mdash; the asymmetrical necklace plays on the interconnected nature of the two stars. To represent the celestial couple, two sapphires &mdash; one from Sri Lanka that weighs 31.17 ct, and the other, a Burmese sapphire weighing 22.82 ct &mdash; were paired together, a serendipitous match that took over a year to come to fruition.

Trésor-astral.png

These two mythological stars appear in cultures throughout time: Persian children purportedly used the constellation to test their eyesight &mdash; in Indian astronomy, the two stars are believed to be symbols of marriage and closeness.

Aside from jewellery pieces, the collection also brings with it several exquisite timepieces. Van Cleef &amp; Arpels&#39; Plan&eacute;tarium watch &mdash; first introduced for women in 2018 &mdash; makes a stunning return in the Heavenly Dreams collection. It&#39;s most incredible feature? The heart of the watch features actual, moving representations of the Sun, Mercury, Venus, the Moon and Earth; all the planets revolve around the sun in real time.

planetarium-watch.png

The Halley necklace and ring.

The Antennae reversible necklace.

The West ring.

The Double galaxies rose clip.

The Bonne etoile necklace.

The visual spectacle isn&#39;t just limited to the watch face. A gradiation of blue sapphires and black spinels fans out from the watch face &mdash; and, punctuated with diamonds, spessartite garnets and coloured sapphires &mdash; create the illusion that one is looking at an entire solar system in itself. It&#39;s a piece best seen in person to fully appreciate the 1,370 hours of work that goes into making each watch.

High jewellery collections are almost always works of art, what with the astronomical carat counts and stunning technical work on display. But Van Cleef &amp; Arpels&#39; Sous les &Eacute;toiles &mdash; with its earnest, genuine wonder for the cosmos &mdash; cements itself firmly as a future classic.

Van Cleef & Arpels’ New High Jewellery Collection was Written in the Stars

Tags

Related Articles

Watches & Jewellery

Van Cleef & Arpels Meets Japanese Crafts In Kyoto

Beauty

15 Space and Galaxy Nail Art Ideas for Your Next Manicure

Watches & Jewellery

Van Cleef & Arpels Rewrites Destiny With The Romeo & Juliet Collection

Recommended posts for you

Fashion

AESPA's NingNing Kicks off Festivities with Versace's Holiday 2024 Campaign

Fashion

Digital Cover Story: Hwang In-youp Makes His Sparkling Return

Fashion

All The Celebrities at The Sound of Prada in Seoul

Watches & Jewellery

Cartier, the Power of Magic Exhibition Opens at Shanghai Museum

Fashion

(G)I-DLE's Song Yuqi Shines in her First Tory Burch Campaign as New Ambassador

Beauty

How to Translate the 'Clean Goth' Fashion Trend to Your Beauty Routine

Fashion

BLACKPINK's Jennie's Best Airport Fashion Moments So Far

Fashion

The Dior Caro Backpack: A Modern Icon in the Making