At an early age every child in France encounters Charles Perrault’s magical fairy tale Peau d’Âne (Donkey Skin), the story of a princess who flees her home for the forest when a strange madness grips her father the king following the death of her mother. Originally published in 1694, the tale was made into a movie in 1970 by Jacques Demy starring Catherine Deneuve as the princess, and has become the inspiration behind Van Cleef & Arpels’ latest haute joaillerie collection.  The French luxury jewellery house has a reputation for creating graceful, dreamy jewels. Perhaps it was Nicolas Bos, Van Cleef’s CEO and creative director, rediscovering the story through his young daughters, along with a chance meeting with Jacques Demy’s son and daughter, that led to the creation of this enchanting collection. Nevertheless in a little over 100 pieces it evokes the magic and wonder of the tale.  The setting for the spectacular launch last week was Chateau Chambord (the location for Jacques Demy’s film) where the jewellery house created a magical kingdom with owls, unicorns and elephants roaming in the Loire Valley. In the rarefied world of high jewellery private clients are treated to many sumptuous launches and Van Cleef has a reputation for hosting some pretty grand affairs, but even the most sated palettes would have been enchanted by this lavish and very private occasion, which for the first time ever was repeated the following evening for the world’s media.  “We thought it was time to go back in history to discover the art, poetry, literature and architecture of the early 16th century when the beautiful castle of Chambord was commissioned,” said Bos. “We wanted to give another, 21st century interpretation using our own art: exceptional stones and the magic of our workmanship, to recreate the magic and poetry of that fairy tale.”  As guests were treated to a Renaissance feast, pageant and fireworks, Jacques Demy’s daughter Rosalie Varda Demy commented; “even judged against what other jewellery houses do to launch their collections in France, there has never been anything like this”.  “The scale of the event depends on how the collection has inspired us,” says Geoffroy Medinger, managing director of UK, Switzerland and Italy. “We are a house that is all about creating beautiful inspiring jewellery that are not accessories but become part of people’s lives.”  In the Peau d’Âne collection the house recaptures every element of the story: the Princess’s three voluminous gowns representing the sky, the moon and the sun are re-imagined as exquisite diamond brooches seemingly painted with turquoise, tourmalines and green garnets (for the sky), blue and mauve tanzanite and sapphires (for the moon) and yellow tourmalines and sapphires (for the sun). The Lilac Fairy’s ethereal dress and wand are transformed into jewels, as is the king’s enchanting castle, which displays a spellbinding oval-cut Brazilian emerald weighing over 39 carats, surrounded by blue and purple sapphires.  Several of the designs are reminiscent of Van Cleef & Arpels’ pretty ballerina figures as favoured by the Duchess of Cornwall. “A lot of our clients are art collectors and appreciate the artistry of our work,” explains Medinger. “Many of the pieces have been sold from the gouaches (drawings) before the craftsmen started on them.”  The house is naturally very discreet about the identity of this elite group of clients from Europe, the Middle East, America and Japan. The Monaco Royal family are known devotees but the only other names revealed are from the past such as the Duchess of Windsor, the Shah of Iran, Maria Callas and Elizabeth Taylor. Their names all come to light in Vincent Meylan’s fascinating book Van Cleef & Arpels Treasures and Legends, which explores the stories behind some of their bespoke commissions.  While exclusive jewellery launches are fairly recent, these historical figures would surely have been as captivated by the Peau d’Âne collection. As Rosalie Varda Demy says; “if my father had been here he would have been very pleased with what Van Cleef & Arpels have done, how they have taken his film to another place.”
The launch of Peau d’Âne, Van Cleef & Arpels' fairytale-inspired high jewellery collection, was fit for a princess writes Francesca Fearon