The Making of: Van Cleef & Arpels Bouton d’Or collection

Of carnelian and chrysoprase

Van Cleef & Arpels’ latest collection isn’t for everyone, and expectedly so. Unlike its usual jewellery collections, this boasts simplicity like no other. That’s not to say that this classic design can fall through the cracks into the pile of ‘forgotten’ pieces though.

The Bouton d’Or collection’s style has its origins in the Paillette motif, which first appeared in the maison’s archives in 1939. The simple circular motif was pieced together to form rings and double bracelets and necklaces, soon finding its way to the cover of Vogue USA in April 1956.

Today, the simple yellow gold jewellery pieces have made way for semi-precious stones like carnelian and chrysoprase, each presenting a unique facet and personality to the collection. Each piece is first individually shaped by hand before it undergoes polishing, the latter being a simple process if not for the concave and convex pastilles. A small diamond is also set into each of the piece’s centre to provide the added shimmer with each fluid movement.

The collection is distinguished by two different sets; the carnelian stands out with a warm undertone of pink gold and mother of pearl, while the onyx and chrysoprase pastilles are contrasted by a light yellow gold.

Van Cleef & Arpels