For Issue 15, Francesca Fearon spoke to Van Cleef & Arpels CEO Catherine Rénier on coming back to the jeweller, the evolution of the iconic symbol, and Perlée line – check it out below
Rows of golden beads have adorned Van Cleef & Arpels’ jewellery creations for a century, imbuing them with tactile texture. This year, the motif is coming into its own, a symbol of the maker’s ongoing dedication to craftsmanship.
Unlike other luxury makers, Van Cleef & Arpels is not a jewellery house that seeks out celebrity ambassadors to promote its beautifully crafted jewels, and yet the prestigious maison, founded in 1906, continues to maintain its relevance to younger generations.
Its secret is the continuing success of its fine jewellery collections, notably the popularity of its still-iconic Alhambra, whose ‘lucky clover’ motifs – featuring slivers of ornamental stone framed by golden beadwork – have captivated collectors, including Catherine, Princess of Wales and Queen Camilla, since 1968, and inspire devotees to scour the auction rooms for pre-loved pieces.
Four decades after the launch of Alhambra, the contemporary Perlée collection elevated these spherical gold beads into the stars of the show.
Named in honour of the beads themselves, the debut collection originally featured diamonds, but has evolved into an enticing array of designs over the years, with hardstone colour accents like lapis lazuli, malachite, carnelian and, most recently, turquoise.
“The Perlée collection represents a true pillar for the maison, embodying both its jewelry heritage, its exacting craftmanship, and its contemporary vision of elegance,” says Catherine Rénier, who succeeded Nicolas Bos as Van Cleef & Arpels’ CEO in 2024.
It is a brand that she knows intimately, having spent 15 years in various roles at the company, most recently as president of the Asia-Pacific region before serving a transformative tenure as the first female CEO of luxury watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre – a position she held for six years.
Rénier is credited with, among other things, infusing a feminine touch into its traditionally masculine designs. Of her return to Van Cleef & Arpels, she recently commented: “It does feel like home.”
Rénier brings with her a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective but also realizes the importance of preserving Van Cleef & Arpels’ patrimony, especially with regards to the Perlée line.
“The commitment allows us to draw inspiration from historical designs, giving rise to new collections that blend a contemporary vision with our enduring DNA,” she explains.
Indeed, gold beadwork has been a part of the maker’s repertoire since the 1920s, when it was initially used to give a decorative edge to stones and motifs such as the fashionable Egyptian-inspired bracelets of the era.
In 1948, beads of varying sizes adorned Van Cleef & Arpels’ Couscous and Bagatelle jewellery collections and were later combined with polished natural gemstones like coral and cultured pearls in its sculptural Twist jewels of the 1960s.
In 1968, the spheres became an emblematic feature of the Alhambra collection, where they imbued its pieces with a sumptuous texture and shine.
Today, Perlée’s playful character makes it ideal for everyday wear, and yet its pieces remain far from easy to perfect. The collection’s sleek silhouette actually “hides many technical challenges,” says Rénier, and requires “several craftsmen and experts [to] unite their know-how to breathe life into the pieces, and ensure they meet our standards of excellence.”
Rather than being soldered onto each piece, Perlée’s orderly rows of yellow, white or rose gold beads are produced using the ancient lost-wax casting method, then each is painstakingly reworked by hand to achieve its final shape and patiently polished until it acquires its characteristic lustre.
This emphasis on craftsmanship is why Van Cleef & Arpels shuns celebrity-led promotions, as it has chosen to carefully nurture a profile based on celebrating the savoir faire and desirability of its jewellery.
Rénier is a great advocate for preserving rare artisanal skills with initiatives like ‘De Mains en Mains’, which offers young talents, as well as the general public, a rare glimpse into the world of jewellery craftsmanship via a series of educational workshops and conferences, and also the expansion of L’École (School of Jewellery Arts) which has campuses in Paris, Dubai, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
The latter, in particular, has become a global forum for exhibitions, classes, and seminars celebrating jewellery culture, and not solely that emerging from the workshops of Van Cleef & Arpels.
By showing the outside world what goes on within these crafts, Rénier hopes that more young people will be encouraged to consider a career in jewellery at a time when many of the older generation are retiring.
The success of fine jewellery collections such as Alhambra and Perlée means the maison is significantly expanding its workshops in France to ensure that there’s a next generation of Van Cleef & Arpels jewellers.
One future initiative is to establish a school within the workshop where apprentices can receive comprehensive training over three years to enhance their skills. “We want to keep pushing the boundaries of technical challenges, expertise and know-how in order to renew ourselves and draw new aesthetics within our sources of inspirations and our DNA,” she says.
In the coming months, there will be more focus in on enriching the cheerful Perlée collection. The most recent pieces, launched last summer, included a chic between-the-finger ring and a bangle rippling with rows of tiny gold spheres.
The choice of yellow, white and rose gold in the collection offers endless mix-and-match possibilities, which only adds to their appeal. “The abstract aesthetic of the collection allows the maison to express its creativity and savoir-faire, both in jewellery and watchmaking,” says Rénier. Watch this gloriously golden space.
Like this? Read about Van Cleef & Arpels Alhambra transformed: The Lucky Clover updated
Photographer: Romain Lenancker
Art Manager: Dilshan Karu
Creative Director: Tim Holloway
SAR EDITOR: Ian Thorley
Production Manager: Debbie Collins
VCA: Nicolina Siozou
