Originally launched in 2008 in white and rose gold, Van Cleef & Arpels has recently added new yellow gold jewels to its pretty Perlée collection.
Named after the french word 'perlé' meaning 'pearled edge', the Perlée collection showcases one of the maison's signature techniques: golden beading. Taking on a new light, these beaded jewels are available for the first time in all three shades of gold - white, rose and yellow - making them perfect for mixed and matching.
Single lines of polished spheres feature in stackable rings and on pendants ready to be strung onto a delicate gold chain. Sunny yellow gold hoops with beaded borders appear as bangles and earrings, some adorned with delicate clovers. A new cuff bracelet, the latest Perlée creation, is entirely covered in diamonds. To create this effect, a gem-setter at Van Cleef & Arpels has used the innovative snow-setting technique to place different-sized diamonds side by side, leaving as little metal visible as possible.
Golden beads have been part of Van Cleef & Arpels' heritage since 1920, when a thin thread of textured metal was first used to edge the stones of certain jewels. Two decades later, the maison has worked thousands of yellow gold beads into bracelets and, most impressively, watches from the Moroccan-inspired Couscous collection. In the 1960s, Alhambra jewels were framed with an elegant beaded border. As the new Perlée jewels show, this tricky technique, which requires a craftsman to patiently shape golden beads by hand before polishing each one individually, continues to define Van Cleef & Arpels.
