It’s been 10 years since the creation of the first Perlée collection, Van Cleef & Arpels’ love note to the art of beading in fine jewelry. The Maison has been using gold beading in its jewelry for close to a century now, beginning in the 1920s when the brand used them to edge precious stones and motifs. In the years following, the house has continued to use the technique to decorate numerous pieces of fine jewelry, including throughout the 1940s and 1960s.
Van Cleef & Arpels’ long history of using gold beads soon resulted in an entire collection being dedicated to the precious pearls, which the brand launched in 2008. It was aptly called Perlée. The collection celebrates the intricacies of the gold beading technique, decorating everything from rings to earrings.
This year’s new launch, the Perlée Diamonds and Perlée Couleurs bracelets, add a new dimension to the existing collection. The Perlée Diamonds bracelets are slim and narrow, with gold beads lining each edge and a row of white diamonds running down the center. The Perlée Couleurs bracelets, on the other hand, are open-ended and entirely studded with the gold beads. One end of the bracelet is pavé-set with white diamonds, while the other is set with a colorful cabochon—either malachite, carnelian, or turquoise, depending on the material of the bracelet itself. Both bracelets would be excellent for daily wear, with the Perlée bracelets being ideal for trendy stacking.
Naturally, each of the bracelets is made with utmost care in Van Cleef & Arpels’ ateliers, with skilled artisans carefully shaping and polishing every single golden bead until it gleams. Van Cleef & Arpels also only uses top-quality gemstones. Diamonds, even the smallest ones, are between D (the most colorless) to F and have a clarity of IF, VVS1, or VVS2. The colored stones that the brand uses are similarly top-notch, with the brand only choosing to use stones that characterize the best of its category. Malachite, for instance, must have its beautiful striations, while the carnelian should be of a consistent deep red. It is with turquoise that you see the brand’s stringency most clearly—none of the stones have any inclusions (very common for the stone) and gleams a clear, bright blue.
Credit to: Nicolette Wong for sg.asiatatler.com
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