Treasure Island

Classic literature once again inspires a poetic high-jewellery collection.

Van Cleef & Arpels takes a maritime adventure as Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island playfully comes to life through its new creations.

The precious stones are selected for clarity, colour, cut and weight as well as their character, while various techniques, such as the traditional and vitrail mystery setting, are employed for the exceptional pieces.

The narrative of Treasure Island by Van Cleef & Arpels unfolds in three parts.

The first chapter, The Adventure At Sea, begins on board a miniature Hispaniola with impressively sized sails in white gold set with diamonds.

The gemsetting's interplay of horizontal and vertical lines create a voluminous three-dimensional effect with the alternating motifs expressing the force of the wind.

The Hispaniola is one of the myriad clips, which have been the maison's emblematic jewellery since its establishment in Paris in 1906.

Three other clips whimsically depict pirates -- John, David and Jim -- with each composition associating finely-worked gold in three colours with precious stones.

Details such as the softness of a jacket and the lightness of a feather were achieved through intricate green wax sculpture work, enabling hand-shaping of the figure's body, clothes and accessories, prior to lost wax casting.

The voyage across the ocean is accompanied by marine creatures such as a shoal of fish on the Poissons Mystérieux clip.

The clip is designed with waves depicted by a gradation of blue and violet buff-topped sapphires, complemented by diamonds and sapphires in varying nuances of blue, recalling the spray of the sea and its depths.

On the Poésie De La Mer clip, a mermaid embraces a blue-green tourmaline cabochon weighing 61.73 carats, whose transparency evokes the turquoise waters of the tropical seas.

Sailor's knots have been translated into designs of necklaces.

The transformable Cordage Infini features an infinity knot motif. Like ropes joined together, two rows of round diamonds and baguette-cut sapphires intertwine to hug the neckline.

Blue pear-shaped sapphires at each end can be detached from the necklace to punctuate a pair of earrings.

Likewise, an emerald-cut sapphire weighing 55.34 carats can be detached from the En Haute Mer and placed at the crown of a solitaire. This transformable necklace showcases braided gold craftsmanship in reproducing the appearance of three-dimensional ropes.

A penchant for precious objects had Van Cleef & Arpels crafting the Onde Mystérieuse Box in hammered white gold with two compartments in ebony.

The base is made of blue quartz, whose inclusions suggest the depth of the ocean. Its lid is adorned with a scene in relief, in which a shoal of fish swim in a sea of paillonné enamel. The elaborate object tells the time with a diamond-paved dial concealed by interchangeble clips, whose curves recall the spirals of shellfish.

The adventure continues in the second chapter, Exploring The Island, with fauna and flora interpreted as high jewellery.

The spiral form of sea creatures reappears on the Ondulations Marines earrings with a mauve and pink pear-shaped sapphire suspended from these curves.

A mosaic of blue-oval sapphires embellishes the shell of Tortue de Cocos Bleue clip, named after an island located off the coast of Costa Rica. Round and baguette cut diamonds sparkle on its legs while eyes twinkle with two buff-topped emeralds.

The front of the Coquillage Mystérieux clip shimmers with rubies, diamonds and a gradation of white and pink diamonds. On the back of the seashell, a white gold fairy holding an emerald rests on a white cultured pearl, nestled at the heart of a coral reef in carved and hammered yellow gold.

The Palmeraie Merveilleuse evokes the shape of a crown of palm leaves, in homage to the tropical vegetation described by Robert Louis Stevenson. This necklace is centred by an emerald cabochon weighing 47.9 carats set on a detachable pendant that can be transferred to a clip.

The exploration turns into a treasure hunt in the third part of the saga.

Hidden between the parchment's folds of the Carte Au Trésor clip, an engraved map features a ruby indicating the hiding place of a precious chest.

This chapter portrays a treasure hunt across the world, echoing how far-off lands have been a major source of inspiration for Van Cleef & Arpels.

Inspired by pre-Colombian jewellery, golden faces set with different-shaped diamonds show various expressions on the Figuras bracelet. The design references archetypal figurines used by the Olmecs -- the earliest known Mesoamerican civilisation-- as offerings to the gods.

Adorned with a myriad of gems and majestic headdresses in hammered gold and diamonds, the Dieu du Vent and Dieu du Ciel clips pay tribute to emblematic divinities from Mayan mythology: Huracan and Itzamna.

Jadeite jade beads in a velvety lavender colour meet jewellery motifs in gold and rubies in the Lanternes Mystérieuses transformable necklace, which can be worn long or short, thanks to oval-shaped elements recalling Chinese lanterns. One of them is a clasp, whose mechanism is concealed beneath a surface of Mystery Set rubies.

Rings are inspired by Victorian and floral motifs of the 16th and 17th centuries Mughal jewellery as well as Vincent Van Gogh's The Sea At Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (1888).

The painting has been interpreted as the Coffre Précieux ring topped by a 14.3 carats cushion-cut sapphire, surrounded by gold, buff-topped rubies and emeralds, marking the four cardinal points.

The three parts of the Treasure Island by Van Cleef & Arpels are symbolised by the Palmier Mystérieux clip with interchangeable motifs of a ship, a chest of precious stones and a rising Sun.