The Jewelry House revisits the fate of the famous lovers through a series of virtuoso creations. Renaissance aesthetics flow through the collection whose gems speak the language of love.
This is not the first time that Van Cleef & Arpels has taken an interest in William Shakespeare’s work. After the success of the collection in honor of his “Midsummer Night’s Dream” presented in 2003, the House has now taken inspiration from the story of Romeo and Juliet and their tragic fate shaped by the fierce rivalry between the Montagus and the Capulets.
Romeo and Juliet takes us to Verona, the Italian city that is home to the secrets of their budding love. The famous couple is portrayed in a romantic scene in which Romeo, dressed in sapphires and lapis lazuli, presents his beloved with a bouquet of purple sapphires. A thoughtful gift that Juliet accepts with delight. Her silhouette is richly set with sapphires, garnets, rubies and diamonds. This duo of clips is no doubt the most figurative piece in the collection, but also one of the loveliest tributes to these two intensely passionate souls.
The collection also makes reference to the story’s most memorable moments, notably the famous balcony scene transcribed in a piece that can be viewed in two ways. The front presents a balcony of diamonds with thick foliage of emeralds and tsavorite garnets tumbling down to form the setting for the young couple. The back shows the frail silhouette of the two young lovers tenderly holding hands.
Verona’s architecture is sublimely represented in a series of creations combining geometrical designs and the interplay of the gemstones’ sizes and settings. The famous crenelated walls of the city are depicted on a ruby bracelet assembled using the Mystery Set technique. It is part of Van Cleef & Arpels’ signature savoir-faire and is used to adjust stones edge to edge to bring out all their luster.
The lover’s fate is sealed in the Love Philtre ring, which echoes the concoction that Juliet drank to give the appearance of being dead. The carefully adjusted ribbons of rubies wind around the body of the piece, a 3.89-carat oval ruby exalted by a halo of pear-shaped diamonds. A majestic creation symbolizing Romeo and Juliet’s pure, undying love.
