Mediterranean Sea

Van Cleef & Arpels Seven Seas

— November 25th, 2015 —
Seven Seas - Indian and Atlantic Oceans
Indian and Atlantic Oceans
Seven Seas - Arabian Sea
Arabian Sea
Seven Seas - Red Sea
Red Sea
Seven Seas - Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
Seven Seas - Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
Seven Seas - Black Sea
Black Sea
Seven Seas - Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
Seven Seas

Beneath an azure sky bathed in light, Van Cleef & Arpels contemplates the dancing reflections of the Mediterranean. Famous for its shades of blue – from intense ultramarine to limpid turquoise – the sea, rich in legends, undulates beneath the watchful gaze of its protective guardians, pink flamingos and sea fairies.
Clapotis necklace: White gold, round and pear-shaped diamonds, sapphires, one white cultured pearl, one cushion-cut green tourmaline of 15.73 carats. © Van Cleef & Arpels
Clapotis necklace: White gold, round and pear-shaped diamonds, sapphires, one white cultured pearl, one cushion-cut green tourmaline of 15.73 carats. © Van Cleef & Arpels

Clapotis necklace: © Van Cleef & Arpels - Photo by Sonia Sieff – Dress by Gaspard Yurkievich

Clapotis necklace

Clapotis necklace: © Van Cleef & Arpels - Photo by Sonia Sieff – Dress by Gaspard Yurkievich

Like a sea trembling beneath the breeze’s caress, the Clapotis necklace unfurls volutes set with sapphires and round and pear-shaped diamonds. Embraced by these arabesques, a tourmaline weighing 15.73 carats draws the gaze to the center of the piece. Evoking the shores of the Mediterranean, its bright and vivid lagoon green complements the whiteness of a large cultured pearl, plunging deep into the neckline. The latter can be removed – along with the jewelry motif from which it is suspended – enabling the necklace to be worn in different ways. Alternately sparkling, luminous and iridescent, the materials combine into a precious, crystalline melody to suit every occasion.

Clapotis necklace: White gold, round and pear-shaped diamonds, sapphires, one white cultured pearl, one cushion-cut green tourmaline of 15.73 carats. © Van Cleef & Arpels
Clapotis necklace: White gold, round and pear-shaped diamonds, sapphires, one white cultured pearl, one cushion-cut green tourmaline of 15.73 carats. © Van Cleef & Arpels

Clapotis necklace: White gold, round and pear-shaped diamonds, sapphires, one white cultured pearl, one cushion-cut green tourmaline of 15.73 carats. © Van Cleef & Arpels
Clapotis necklace: White gold, round and pear-shaped diamonds, sapphires, one white cultured pearl, one cushion-cut green tourmaline of 15.73 carats. © Van Cleef & Arpels

Clapotis necklace: White gold, round and pear-shaped diamonds, sapphires, one white cultured pearl, one cushion-cut green tourmaline of 15.73 carats. © Van Cleef & Arpels
Clapotis necklace: White gold, round and pear-shaped diamonds, sapphires, one white cultured pearl, one cushion-cut green tourmaline of 15.73 carats. © Van Cleef & Arpels
Clapotis necklace: White gold, round and pear-shaped diamonds, sapphires, one white cultured pearl, one cushion-cut green tourmaline of 15.73 carats. © Van Cleef & Arpels

Clapotis necklace: Drawing & Gouaché
Clapotis necklace: Drawing & Gouaché
Clapotis necklace: Drawing & Gouaché


Rouleau Azur bracelet


Rouleau Azur bracelet: White gold, diamonds, white cultured pearls, lapis lazuli and turquoise beads. © Van Cleef & Arpels
Rouleau Azur bracelet: White gold, diamonds, white cultured pearls, lapis lazuli and turquoise beads. © Van Cleef & Arpels

The deep blue of the open sea, limpid coastal waters, the dazzling white of foam on the sand... The various shades of the Mediterranean come together on this bracelet composed of lapis lazuli, turquoise, pearls and diamonds. Its braided structure makes it highly flexible and enables it to reproduce the volume of a breaking wave. A traditional technique at Van Cleef & Arpels, the knotted threading used for these pearls also gives great strength to this azure breaker.

Rouleau Azur bracelet: White gold, diamonds, white cultured pearls, lapis lazuli and turquoise beads. © Van Cleef & Arpels
Rouleau Azur bracelet: White gold, diamonds, white cultured pearls, lapis lazuli and turquoise beads. © Van Cleef & Arpels
Rouleau Azur bracelet: White gold, diamonds, white cultured pearls, lapis lazuli and turquoise beads. © Van Cleef & Arpels

Rouleau Azur bracelet: Gouaché
Rouleau Azur bracelet: Gouaché


Savoir-faire :Rouleau Azur bracelet  - Gouaché design
Gouaché design
Savoir-faire :Rouleau Azur bracelet  - Gouaché design
Gouaché design
Savoir-faire :Rouleau Azur bracelet  - Threading work - traditional threading
Threading work - traditional threading
Savoir-faire: Rouleau Azur bracelet  - hreading work - tying the knot
hreading work - tying the knot
Savoir-faire: Rouleau Azur bracelet  - Threading work - traditional threading
Threading work - traditional threading
Savoir-faire: Rouleau Azur bracelet  - Quality control
Quality control
Savoir-faire: Rouleau Azur bracelet


Flamant corail necklace: © Van Cleef & Arpels - Photo by Sonia Sieff – Dress by Gaspard Yurkievich

Flamant corail necklace

Flamant corail necklace: © Van Cleef & Arpels - Photo by Sonia Sieff – Dress by Gaspard Yurkievich
Flamant corail necklace: Pink gold, round diamonds, round and pear-shaped pink sapphires, round peridots, pink and red coral, onyx. © Van Cleef & Arpels
Flamant corail necklace: Pink gold, round diamonds, round and pear-shaped pink sapphires, round peridots, pink and red coral, onyx. © Van Cleef & Arpels

Attracted by the joyous and colorful allure of birds, Van Cleef & Arpels has often paid tribute to them in its creations. The pink flamingo, that graceful inhabitant of the Mediterranean shoreline, here seems to spread its wings around the neck in a delicate pastel embrace. Thanks to meticulous articulation, its plumage – adorned with pink sapphires and diamonds – is reproduced in all its lightness. Like precious droplets, the pear-shaped stones complete the central motif, with its association of two different shades of coral. The bird’s body – remarkable for its curved volume clad in ethereal feathers – can become a clip, in keeping with the Maison’s tradition of transformable pieces.

Flamant corail necklace: Pink gold, round diamonds, round and pear-shaped pink sapphires, round peridots, pink and red coral, onyx. © Van Cleef & Arpels
Flamant corail necklace: Pink gold, round diamonds, round and pear-shaped pink sapphires, round peridots, pink and red coral, onyx. © Van Cleef & Arpels

Flamant corail necklace: Pink gold, round diamonds, round and pear-shaped pink sapphires, round peridots, pink and red coral, onyx. © Van Cleef & Arpels
Flamant corail necklace: Pink gold, round diamonds, round and pear-shaped pink sapphires, round peridots, pink and red coral, onyx. © Van Cleef & Arpels
Flamant corail necklace: Gouaché
Flamant corail necklace: Gouaché

 - Gouaché design
Gouaché design
 - Gouaché design
Gouaché design
 - Jewelry work - setting
Jewelry work - setting
 - Jewelry work - open work
Jewelry work - open work
 - Jewelry work - adjusting
Jewelry work - adjusting
 - Jewelry work - adjusting
Jewelry work - adjusting
 - Jewelry work - adjusting
Jewelry work - adjusting
 - Polishing work , brush polishing
Polishing work , brush polishing
 - Polishing work , brush polishing
Polishing work , brush polishing
 - Jewelry work - adjusting on the coral
Jewelry work - adjusting on the coral
 - Jewelry work - adjusting on the coral
Jewelry work - adjusting on the coral
 - Jewelry work - necklace pieces
Jewelry work - necklace pieces
 - Jewelry work - necklace pieces
Jewelry work - necklace pieces
 - Polishing work - thread polishing
Polishing work - thread polishing
 - Setting work - adjusting the stone
Setting work - adjusting the stone
Savoir-faire : Flamant corail necklace  - Jewelry work - assembling
Jewelry work - assembling
Savoir-faire : Flamant corail necklace  - Jewelry work - positioning the onyx beak
Jewelry work - positioning the onyx beak
Savoir-faire : Flamant corail necklace  - Jewelry work - positioning the peridot eye
Jewelry work - positioning the peridot eye
Savoir-faire : Flamant corail necklace


Flamant corail earrings: © Van Cleef & Arpels - Photo by Sonia Sieff – Dress by Gaspard Yurkievich

Flamant corail earrings

Flamant corail earrings: © Van Cleef & Arpels - Photo by Sonia Sieff – Dress by Gaspard Yurkievich

Flamant corail earrings: Pink gold, round diamonds, round and pear-shaped pink sapphires, pink coral. © Van Cleef & Arpels
Flamant corail earrings: Pink gold, round diamonds, round and pear-shaped pink sapphires, pink coral. © Van Cleef & Arpels


Flamant corail earrings: Gouaché
Flamant corail earrings: Gouaché

Savoir-faire: Flamant corail earrings  - Gouaché design
Gouaché design
Savoir-faire: Flamant corail earrings  - Jewelry work - setting
Jewelry work - setting
Savoir-faire: Flamant corail earrings  - Jewelry work - assembling
Jewelry work - assembling
Savoir-faire: Flamant corail earrings  - Setting work - prong setting
Setting work - prong setting
Savoir-faire: Flamant corail earrings


Sirène Mystérieuse clip


Sirène Mystérieuse clip: Vitrail Mystery Set colored sapphires, sapphire, onyx, diamonds. © Van Cleef & Arpels
Sirène Mystérieuse clip: Vitrail Mystery Set colored sapphires, sapphire, onyx, diamonds. © Van Cleef & Arpels

This mermaid gracefully cleaves the waters of the Mediterranean, a sparkling jewel in her hands. A halo of light seems to illuminate her rose-cut diamond face, along with her long hair that undulates in the current. Renewing the tradition of fairies created by Van Cleef & Arpels since the 1940s, this spellbinding creature is further magnified by a new Mystery Set technique.

Sirène Mystérieuse clip: Gouaché
Sirène Mystérieuse clip: Gouaché

Unveiled in 2014 on the Libellule clip, this unique savoir-faire enables the Maison to multiply the plays of reflections, colors and reliefs, while highlighting the translucence of the gems. Here, the eye encounters a delicate gradation of blue and violet sapphires that completes the outline of the mermaid. Thanks to stone cutting of great precision, each gem has been intricately buffed on one side to bring out a rounded softness, and faceted on the other for added brilliance. It is then perfectly inserted into the golden setting, which remains invisible on both sides of the piece. A feat of jewelry making becomes an art of mystery, which here finds its ultimate expression.

 - Gouaché design
Gouaché design
 - Gouaché design
Gouaché design
 - Green wax work - sculpting
Green wax work - sculpting
 - Green wax work - sculpting
Green wax work - sculpting
 - Green wax work - shaping
Green wax work - shaping
 - =Green wax work - shaping
=Green wax work - shaping
 - Green wax work - sculpting
Green wax work - sculpting
 - Jewelry work - open work
Jewelry work - open work
 - Jewelry work - setting
Jewelry work - setting
 - Jewelry work - setting
Jewelry work - setting
 - Jewelry work - work on the gold structure
Jewelry work - work on the gold structure
Savoir-faire: Sirène Mystérieuse clip - Jewelry work - open work
Jewelry work - open work
Savoir-faire: Sirène Mystérieuse clip - Polishing work - thread polishing
Polishing work - thread polishing
Savoir-faire: Sirène Mystérieuse clip - Polishing work - thread polishing
Polishing work - thread polishing
Savoir-faire: Sirène Mystérieuse clip


Bal Sous-Marin ring



Bal Sous-Marin ring: White cultured pearl and diamonds. © Van Cleef & Arpels
Bal Sous-Marin ring: White cultured pearl and diamonds. © Van Cleef & Arpels
Bal Sous-Marin ring: White cultured pearl and diamonds. © Van Cleef & Arpels

Bal Sous-Marin ring: Gouaché
Bal Sous-Marin ring: Gouaché


Fleur des Mers ring



Fleur des Mers ring: One cushion-cut sapphire of 14.08 carats (Sri Lanka), sapphires, aquamarines, diamonds. © Van Cleef & Arpels
Fleur des Mers ring: One cushion-cut sapphire of 14.08 carats (Sri Lanka), sapphires, aquamarines, diamonds. © Van Cleef & Arpels
Fleur des Mers ring: One cushion-cut sapphire of 14.08 carats (Sri Lanka), sapphires, aquamarines, diamonds. © Van Cleef & Arpels


Hippocampe clip




Hippocampe clip: Gray cultured pearl, blue and mauve sapphires, Paraíba-like tourmalines, amazonite, diamonds. © Van Cleef & Arpels
Hippocampe clip: Gray cultured pearl, blue and mauve sapphires, Paraíba-like tourmalines, amazonite, diamonds. © Van Cleef & Arpels
Hippocampe clip: Gray cultured pearl, blue and mauve sapphires, Paraíba-like tourmalines, amazonite, diamonds. © Van Cleef & Arpels
Hippocampe clip: Gray cultured pearl, blue and mauve sapphires, Paraíba-like tourmalines, amazonite, diamonds. © Van Cleef & Arpels

Hippocampe clip: Gouaché
Hippocampe clip: Gouaché


Seven Seas - Indian and Atlantic Oceans
Indian and Atlantic Oceans
Seven Seas - Arabian Sea
Arabian Sea
Seven Seas - Red Sea
Red Sea
Seven Seas - Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
Seven Seas - Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
Seven Seas - Black Sea
Black Sea
Seven Seas - Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
Seven Seas
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