For more than a century, Van Cleef & Arpels has returned to one well of inspiration with unerring devotion: the natural world. From the maison’s very first daisy brooch in 1907 to its glittering modern-day interpretations of peonies, cosmos, and buttercups, flowers have remained both muse and medium. Now, with the launch of the Flowerlace collection, the Parisian jeweler continues this legacy while introducing a new, contemporary twist.
The collection distills the idea of a flower into something more abstract: the openwork silhouette of a corolla, as if petals were traced in sunlight. Rendered in yellow gold and illuminated with diamonds of the highest clarity and color, the designs are less about strict realism and more about capturing nature’s energy in motion. Curved petals ripple with a sense of movement, while diamond-studded pistils glimmer asymmetrically, echoing the imperfection—and the vitality—of real blossoms.
Flowerlace pendant
Across five pieces—a ring, a Between the Finger ring, earrings, a pendant, and a transformable clip pendant—the collection plays with lightness and volume, marrying artisanal craft with ethereal grace. Each jewel begins with the ancestral art of lost-wax casting, followed by hours of hand-polishing, gem-setting, and finishing, a process demanding the patience and precision for which the maison is renowned. The result is a dance of gold and diamonds that seems to come alive on the skin.
A sketch of a Van Cleef & Arpels Silhouette brooch from the 1930s.
Flowerlace also nods to two enduring Van Cleef & Arpels themes: couture and transformation. The rounded petals echo the ribbon-like forms of the house’s 1930s Silhouette clips, while the adaptability of the clip pendant reflects a longstanding taste for jewels that can be worn multiple ways. The collection further links back to 2007’s Flowerlace high jewelry suite, revisiting the dialogue between lace-like delicacy and floral inspiration, but now in a more accessible expression.
At Dumfries House in Scotland, a rose garden has been renamed in Van Cleef & Arpels’ honor. It’s a fitting tribute: a living landscape to match the maison’s own ever-blooming one.
As the Principal Patron of The King’s Foundation of Gardens and Estates, Van Cleef & Arpels supports the preservation of landscapes and gardens such as the one found at the Dumfries House in Scotland (above).
The Flowerlace collection is available beginning September 1. For more information visit vancleefarpels.com.
