When Van Cleef & Arpels established its business in 1906, one of its first orders was for a small-scale replica of a yacht. Considered the most modern ship of its time, the Varuna belonged to Eugene Higgins, a minted American heir and leading figure in late 19th-century New York, who spent his days at sea with royalty, from King Christian IX of Denmark to Emperor Wilhelm I of Germany.
In winter, the scion would set sail for the Mediterranean, anchoring in sparkling Madeira, Portugal; Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory; and Marseille, France. Summers back home were spent gliding along the picturesque coasts of Maine and Newport.
Reproduced with striking realism, the minutely detailed model of the Varuna is portrayed sailing in rough seas, amid wild waves sculpted from a block of jasper atop a gold-rimmed ebony base. The yacht itself is fashioned in yellow gold with a hull in white, green and red enamel. Six lifeboats are suspended along the sides of the vessel, whose decking is of engraved silver, and an American flag billows from the stern. Though designed as a decorative piece, the Varuna Yacht also had a practical feature — it was equipped with a hidden button for Higgins to summon his butler.
The masterpiece offers a snapshot of the era’s technological progress while highlighting the predilection of artists and creatives for depicting the marvellous vehicles and vessels that came with the rise of transatlantic travel. By the same token, it was after his maiden voyage to America, where he wed, that Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson found inspiration to pen his famous adventure story, Treasure Island.
This beloved tale and literary classic’s fictional mutinous pirates, marooned castaways and hidden fortunes proliferated the globe. Stevenson’s vision transcended the page, igniting the imagination of numerous filmmakers and serving as a wellspring of cinematic adventures, including Walt Disney’s Treasure Planet and the fantasy swashbuckler series Pirates of the Caribbean. His characters navigated their way into our collective imagination via bedtime stories, school plays and daydreams. In many cases, the tale inadvertently played a part in introducing children all over the world to concepts such as curiosity and wonder, bravery and justice.
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Since 2000, Van Cleef & Arpels has launched a thematic high jewellery collection almost every year, drawing ideas from the realms of art, literature, theatre and poetry. From Jules Verne’s Extraordinary Voyages to Charles Perrault’s Donkeyskin and the Grimm brothers’ Fairy Tales in addition to William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Romeo and Juliet, the maison’s high jewellery creations are not only an attempt to immortalise various popular characters, but also transpose their spirit into a tangible and most certainly precious objet d’art that will last for eternity.
The French jeweller first unveiled its interpretation of Treasure Island in sun-drenched Miami, Florida, last year. It then set course for paradisiacal Phuket, Thailand, in February to showcase its jewels to the Asia-Pacific market.
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“This very classic adventure travel novel from Robert Louis Stevenson goes beyond Europe and Western influence,” says Julie Clody Medina, president of Van Cleef & Arpels Asia Pacific. “[Treasure Island] was something we felt could resonate with our audiences while allowing us to tell a story that is playful, enchanting and emotional with a touch of humour.”
The collection is presented in three chapters, the first being Adventure at Sea. On board Van Cleef & Arpels’ ship is a crew comprising designers, gemologists and craftspeople drinking in the views from the deck, translating the language of navigation and the aquatic world into precious jewellery, moulding metal into mooring lines, and manipulating diamonds and sapphires to mirror currents and eddies.
Yellow and white gold are twisted into a series of nautical knots to secure a luminous 55.34-carat emerald-cut sapphire in the transformable En haute mer necklace and ring while a gradation of blue and violet sapphires, enhanced by the maison’s Vitrail Mystery Set technique, depict a shoal of fish swimming through sunlit waves in the Poissons Mystérieux clip. An evolution of the company’s patented Mystery Setting (where precious stones are individually inserted into gold rails to completely cover the set surface, giving the jewellery a velvety sheen), the Vitrail Mystery Set conceals the mount and prongs on both the front and back of the pieces to create a transparent effect.
This chapter in particular pays special attention to the maison’s adroit goldwork, as seen in the Trio of Pirates clips, Van Cleef & Arpels’ rendition of John, David and Jim — the main corsairs of Stevenson’s story. Its realism is made possible by intricate wax sculpture work, which enables the body, clothes and accessories of each figure to be shaped by hand before casting. From John’s bouffant sleeves to the feather on David’s cap and the parchment coiling around Jim’s mast, Van Cleef & Arpels’ manipulation of fluid volumes and curlicues makes each piece a sculptural work of art.
The same can be said of the Moussaillon necklace, in which gold is moulded to resemble a silk lavallière, a masculine ornament popular at the time depicted in Treasure Island. White, rose and yellow gold form the folds and gathers of the “neck scarf”, with a 23.47-carat spessartite garnet adorning the bow hemmed with diamond and sapphire tassels.
The second chapter is Exploring the Island. After dropping anchor off the coast of a dreamlike isle, the maison sets foot on its golden beaches and is met with precious seashells and bejewelled turtles leading to a tropical forest laden with earth’s riches. This chapter pays homage to nature, a cherished theme for Van Cleef & Arpels.
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The Palmeraie merveilleuse necklace and clip takes inspiration from the swaying leaves of palm trees that puncture the island sky. Yellow and white gold form swooping diamond fronds that encircle the neck, with a mesmerising elongated oval emerald cabochon, weighing 47.93 carats, hanging from the centre. The pendant, whose deep green recalls the shades of lush foliage, is detachable, as are many of Van Cleef & Arpels’ modular pieces. This hallmark offers plurality, affording different styles of wear depending on the occasion.
The Coquillage Mystérieux clip sneaks in another of the jeweller’s beloved signatures: the fairy. Seashells were once valuable trade items in ancient civilisation, often serving as currency, ornaments and tools. Embellished with a gradation of rubies and white and pink diamonds, this bivalve bijouterie is an amalgamation of various setting techniques — rail, grain, nail, semi-closed and cornered. Turning it over reveals a miniature fairy sculpture in white gold caressing a single emerald in a tender green hue. The delicate sprite rests on a white cultured pearl, nestled in the heart of a coral reef in carved and hammered yellow gold.
The narrative culminates in The Treasure Hunt with the unveiling of a secret trove of jewels and gems of captivating colours and finely wrought gold carvings which echo of Van Cleef & Arpels’ longstanding engagement with the allure and intrigue of far-flung cultures.
This clandestine cache is filled to the brim with ornate rings. The contours and splendour of the treasure chest are reflected in the Coffre précieux ring, inspired by Vincent van Gogh’s moving depiction of a seascape in Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. A 14.32-carat cushion-cut sapphire crowns the piece with an openwork structure while buff-topped rubies and emeralds mark its surrounding cardinal points. Intricate details abound: Gold gadroons, white gold arches, engravings and diamonds in grain setting endow that ring with generous height.
The Ornement d’Alexandrina ring pays homage to Victorian-style jewellery with a 12.69-carat mauve sapphire taking pride of place at its heart. Vibrant emeralds, garnets and coloured sapphires encircle the centre stone. This bold association of shades recalls the festive tradition of cocktail rings, notably in vogue during the 1960s. On the other hand, the trio of Splendeur indienne rings combine floral inspiration with architectural lines — a composition emblematic of the Mughal style during the 16th and 17th centuries that blossomed across the arts in India.
The Lanternes Mystérieuses long necklace boasts 31 jadeite beads in a velvety lavender shade. They alternate with jewellery motifs in gold and rubies and, like most of Van Cleef & Arpels’ transformable accessories, the necklace can be worn both long and short by manipulating the oval-shaped clasps, designed to look like Chinese lanterns.
As for the Figuras bracelet, a series of golden faces composed of different-shaped diamonds evoke the archetypal figurines used by the Olmecs — the earliest known Mesoamerican civilisation — as offerings to the gods. It is a tribute to the art of monetary jewellery, revealing expert gold-hammered and beaded craftsmanship.
One of the reasons Treasure Island was chosen was that “we wanted to find a story that would allow us to really showcase and encapsulate all the maison territories”, Medina explains. She compares it to Van Cleef & Arpels’ last thematic collection, Legend of Diamonds, which showcased 25 unique pieces adorned with gems cut from the Lesotho Legend, the fifth-largest rough diamond ever mined at 910 carats. “That was a tribute solely paid to diamonds, so this is a very different approach.”
The search for the gems for Treasure Island started four years ago, she reveals. “When it comes to stone sourcing, there is no compromise. Usually, high-quality stones are selected based on colour, cut, clarity and carat, but there is a fifth ‘C’ in our language that is equally important: character. Believe it or not, the spirit of the stone, the emotion it provides is very important.”
Held at the beachfront Trisara Resort, the Asia-Pacific launch and exhibition was accompanied by educational presentations by art historians and high jewellery pundits from L’école School of Jewelry Arts, a research institution supported by Van Cleef & Arpels. The enlightening session traced the evolution of treasure chests to jewellery boxes, the history of and misconceptions about pirates and the world’s most elusive finds ever recovered (one of our region’s most prominent discoveries is from the Belitung shipwreck, which carried close to 60,000 Tang dynasty gold, silver and ceramic artefacts.)
“Asia-Pacific has a strong concentration of people with a lot of resources who appreciate art, luxury and beauty. The clientele is extremely sharp, well aware and keen to find information about how things are made. It’s a digitalised world, fair enough, but that doesn’t mean our young generation is not open, curious and interested in the craft. When something is absolutely meaningful, there is an audience for that,” Medina says assuredly.
When discussing Van Cleef & Arpels’ consumer profile in the region, she is pleased to reveal the maison is servicing more masculine customers. “The universal theme of luck transcends gender and generation; so, now, there is increased demand from the gentlemen. We often see them wearing the Alhambra bracelet,” she adds.
“I remember five years ago, the husbands of our high jewellery clients would never have considered treating themselves to jewellery. Now, they are attending our events with a clip on their suits. It’s so elegant. The scene is constantly evolving. And as custodians of the maison, as long as we ensure we transmit the right message, we will still be relevant even in decades to come.”
As the sun dips into the horizon, the region’s coterie, dressed to the nines for the celebratory gala, find their seats at the long table set with candles and tropical flora. A parade of models donning the collection’s veritable treasures glide in and out of the beachside event, emphasising the fact that even these one-of-a-kind pieces only come to life when they are worn. After all, jewellery are deeply personal accoutrements that can carry great emotional weight, acting as a tangible link to memories, relationships and milestones.
Medina is a testament to this. She touches the two Perlée bracelets on her wrist, which she acquired the first year she moved to Southeast Asia. “I chose two because I have two daughters. I wear them all the time; they’re like my second skin. When I reflect, I subconsciously touch the beads of gold and they soothe me. It’s funny because my girls are already choosing which one will be passed down to who.”
After speaking at length about the lessons and morals of Treasure Island as well as her own convictions, Medina expresses hope that her daughters will grow up curious. “This is paramount. Being curious is having your radar constantly turned on to detect open doors. I always tell them behind every door, there will be more doors.”
Besides, who knows what treasure may lie across from them?
