JEWELLERY
Van Cleef & Arpels and dance
VAN CLEEF & ARPELS’ OBSESSION WITH BALLET HAS RESULTED IN THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BALLERINA CLIPS, ENCHANTING TIMEPIECES AND EVEN A CLASSIC REPERTOIRE. AS THE HONG KONG BALLET PREPARES FOR ITS PERFORMANCE OF JEWELS, STEPHANIE IP DELVES INTO THE MAISON’S HISTORY WITH THE WORLD OF DANCE
Ballet has been intrinsically tied to the jewellery house of Van Cleef & Arpels for almost 100 years. One of the maison’s co-founders, Louis Arpels, loved dance and often took his nephew Claude to the Opéra Garnier, just a short walk from the brand’s boutique on Place Vendôme. There, in the gilded and regal auditorium, they watched as ballerinas twirled and leaped across the stage, every movement a demonstration of strength, elegance and poise. Back at the workshop and with images of the performance still fresh in mind, Arpels toiled to bring the ballerinas to life once again, envisioning their AEuid movements and elegant tutus in the sparkle of precious gemstones and metals.
?hen the family settled in 6ew AorS in the early ! s, the first ballerina cliXs were created at )rXels’ urging · miniature figurines with rose-cut diamond faces, wearing gold or platinum skirts dressed in precious diamonds, rubies, emeralds and turquoise. Since then, the elegant and majestic dancers have become a major motif that still inspires Van Cleef & Arpels’ watch and jewellery collections today.
But that’s not the end of the story – far from it. Van Cleef &
)rXels’ affinity to ballet only grew stronger in the ! s, when +laude Arpels became acquainted with George Balanchine, the choreographer and co-founder of the New York City Ballet. Finding a common passion for both gems and dance, Claude Arpels and Balanchine immediately struck up a friendship that later on led to an artistic collaboration – a ballet inspired by gemstones.
Jewels, a three-movement non-narrative ballet that pays homage to emeralds, rubies and diamonds, Xremiered in 6ew AorS in )Xril ! . -ach movement is dedicated to one of the precious stones and set to music by a different composer. ¹-meraldsº uses a Xiece by /abriel Fauru, ¹:ubiesº by 1gor ;travinsSy and the finale, ¹,iamondsº, was choreograXhed to music by 8yotr 1lyich Marking the 40th anniversary of Jewels, Van Cleef & Arpels created the Ballet Précieux High Jewellery collection, which highlighted the beauty of emeralds, rubies and diamonds. Once again reinstating the importance of dance, the house also worked with Benjamin Millepied, a former principal of the New York City Ballet and founder of the LA Dance Project company, which culminated in the creation of the Gems trilogy, a work that complements Balanchine’s choreography, and another revolutionary piece that represents precious stones in the form of dance. 1n fact, so imXortant was Jewels to the house that in its latest watch collection, Van Cleef & Arpels has endeavoured to recreate the three ballet masterpieces on the wrist. Just as Louis Arpels brought ballerinas to life through precious diamond clips and jewellery, the brand’s artisans, jewellers, enamellers and watchmakers have recreated the entire ballet in three acts right on the dials in the Lady Arpels collection – ballerinas, choreography, music, everything. How so? This is how the magic happens. On the baroque-styled dial that depicts a theatre stage, the drapes draw apart to reveal miniature paintings of ballerinas, who arabesque, pirouette and jeté on the rotating carousel to the gentle chime of music. This 20-second musical animation can be activated at any time you fancy via a pusher at 4 o’clock. More than just a timepiece, the Lady Arpels Ballerines Musicales is an artistic performance in miniature. Van Cleef & Arpels had the idea for the project more than a decade ago, but the complexity presented by the on-demand animation meant it took seven years of development and research to create a manual-winding mechanical movement capable of telling the time and sounding out the musical compositions. 1nside the watch is a music box made uX of a blade Seyboard, plucked by pins that are located on the underside of the rotating disc with the dance scene. Four gongs and hammers of the carillon provide additional notes for the melodies. Working closely with musician Michel Tirabosco, the house was able to adapt the TO THIS DAY, JEWELS REMAINS ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT BALLETS OF THE 20TH CENTURY arrangements to fit the two instruments in the watch. ;till, it’s a grand affair: the movement of the Lady Arpels Ballerine Musicale Rubis watch, for example, performs Stravinsky’s Capriccio with no fewer than ! notes" ! Xlayed by the music box and by the carillon. )n incredible feat indeed. Van Cleef & Arpels’ ballet journey continues this month. As part of the Le French May Arts Festival 2021 programme, the jewellery maison is proudly presenting the ballet classic, Jewels by Balanchine, performed by the Hong Kong Ballet. Five performances are being staged at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts’ Lyric Theatre on May 21-23. We’ve fallen in love with Van Cleef & Arpels’ magical ballerina clips, and have been charmed by the incredible scenes played by the three Lady Arpels watches. Now’s the chance to watch the inspiration for it all performed live before our eyes. We wouldn’t miss it for the world.