How the sea and its secrets have inspired luxury jewellers like Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier and Piaget
Chaumet designer Robert Lemoine drew inspiration from the surrealist natural landscapes of Salvador Dali and Meret Oppenheim, while Tiffany & Co. founder Charles Lewis Tiffany called mother nature ‘our best designer’
The sea and its secrets have long held a unique fascination. Now more than ever, marine life is in the spotlight with a deeper appreciation of mother nature’s biggest gift – water.
The aquatic world has captivated Van Cleef & Arpels since the 1920s, as seen in the brand’s patrimony collections based on sea travel.
The 1960s and 70s saw the French maison interpreting the wonders of the sea in creative ways, taking inspiration from underwater fauna and flora as well as mythical creatures such as sirens and mermaids.
More recently, its high jewellery collection, Seven Seas, showcases pieces that evoke the diversity of the earth’s waters.
The Brume de Saphir set was created only last year, where diamonds combine with light and dark blue sapphire, forming shimmering ripples and referencing the changing colours of the waves as the hours go by.
Cartier plays with the shape and the nuances of the opal, and evokes the rush of waves in a marine-themed ring where two aquamarines, on either side of the opal, bring out its azure tones.
Another high jewellery ring in platinum has a 22.68-carat button-shaped, white, non-nacreous clam natural pearl, orange-hued cultured pearls and brilliant-cut diamonds.
Taking inspiration from fish, Boucheron creates the Ama clip earrings in lacquer with diamonds and briolette-cut and fancy-cut amethysts, which hook on top of the ears.