To get an idea of just how fabulous the "big three" precious gemstones are you need only glance at Van Cleef & Arpels' new solitaire engagement rings. Adorned with sapphires, emeralds and rubies, the stones have been chosen not just for their exquisite cut, colour and clarity but also for their uniqueness. Looking beyond the traditional criteria for evaluating a jewel, Van Cleef & Arpels chooses stones with a personality. Gems that, quite literally, make your heart flutter.
The spirit of a jewel - its Pierre de Caractère™ - is central to every Van Cleef & Arpels creation. Each gemstone is one of a kind and naturally beautiful - unheated and with very few inclusions. The maison's sapphires come from Kashmir, Sri Lanka or Madagascar, and each exhibits a deep, rich blue. Rubies are from Mozambique, Tanzania or Madagascar and have been selected for their blazing red fire. Lush, green emeralds originate from Colombia, Zambia, Brazil or Afghanistan.
Each coloured gemstone that you can see here weighs 1ct or more, incorporated by the maison's master jewellers into creative settings that are so typical of Van Cleef & Arpels. From the asymmetric swirls of the Hirondelle ring, set with a round-cornered cushion-cut emerald, to the flawless lines of the Bonheur, with its deep-red, oval-cut ruby, each one-of-a-kind ring has been designed so that the central stone sings out among the surrounding diamonds and platinum setting.
If you're considering a coloured gemstone as an alternative to a diamond, Van Cleef & Arpels has been creating magnificent engagement rings since it was founded in 1906, following the marriage of Estelle Arpels to Alfred Van Cleef. And if that isn't romantic enough, the maison has been privy to some of the greatest love stories of all time. Who can forget the Van Cleef & Arpels ring given to Elizabeth Taylor by Richard Burton in 1968, topped with an extraordinary 8.25ct ruby, or the Duchess of Windsor's famous ruby and diamond necklace, inscribed with "My Wallis from her David, 19.06.1936"?
