Travel The World With Van Cleef & Arpels' New 'Le Grand Tour' High Jewellery Collection

For many young students today, studying abroad is a rite of passage. And as it turns out, the practice virtually dates back to the 16th century, when young European aristocrats underwent a traditional "Grand Tour" of the continent as they came of age, which purported to show them the worlds of art, culture and society from the bustling streets of Paris to the main cities of Italy.

This is the starting point for Van Cleef & Arpels' new high jewellery collection aptly titled "Le Grand Tour," which takes admirers on a journey through Europe's history through the filtered, multi-faceted perspective of its finest and most precious gems. Beginning in London, England and ending in Baden-Baden, Germany, the collection aims to reimagine the very same journey the Maison's founder, André Suarès, made over a century ago.

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"Le Grand Tour" features around seventy exceptionally-crafted pieces which exemplify the Maison’s creativity, savoir-faire and extraordinary taste in gems. Nicolas Bos, President and CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels, contextualised the theme’s contemporary relevance, noting how travel "has had a strong impact on our uses of today. We still travel to widen our perspectives, in a quest for experiences and encounters." And the collection achieves this as "it blends the traditions of jewellery and decorative arts – such objects were brought back as souvenirs from the Grand Tour – with the idea of once again discovering and mixing periods and cultures," says Bos.

Marrying antique art movements with Van Cleef & Arpels’ heritage and signature style, each piece is inspired by the places they represent. From necklaces to bracelets to clips, "Le Grand Tour" walks one through a rich tapestry of the arts and culture which has inspired the Maison over the years. And while today, travel has become significantly easier thanks to improvements in technology, communications and social mobility, this collection serves to honour and remember a time when traveling was more than just tourism, a privilege reserved for the elite few.

Keen to discover more about the new collection and curious about the 'itinerary' behind it? We've curated a selection of our favourite pieces for your perusal below.

London

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The birthplace of Wedgwood porcelain, the city of London serves as inspiration for the Josiah necklace, with sapphires which capture the porcelain’s intense blue.

Paris

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Sophisticated, classy and simply drop-dead gorgeous, the Lucendi earrings hang like an opulent 18th-century chandelier.

The Alps

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This Étoile Des Glaciers clip takes inspiration from the description of Edelweiss in George Sand's classic novel Lélia. The flowers are both an allusion to the blossoming violets of the region as well as a common motif in Van Cleef & Arpels jewellery.

Italy

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Directly inspired by the bandeaux bracelets of the 1920s, Italy is represented by four bracelets for the cities of Venice, Rome, Florence and Naples. These micro-mosaics create bejewelled landscapes that offer a panorama of harmonious shades of colour.

Related article: First Look: Van Cleef & Arpels’s Sous les Étoiles Collection

Venice

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Capturing the beauty of the ruins of ancient Rome as well as the majestic buildings of Venice, the Capriccio necklace is made of gold, five pear-shaped emeralds of Zambian origin, and a myriad of other diamonds.

Florence

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Immense yourself in the world of Florentine painter Sandro Botticelli's masterpiece, The Birth of Venus, with the Ode À L’amour ring. Celebrating the heights of the Italian Renaissance, these pink sapphire rings are surrounded by rubies and rose gold.

Rome

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In keeping with the Maison's long-standing tradition of transformable jewellery, this long necklace is a reference to the Temple of Diana in the gardens of Rome's Villa Borghese.

Rome

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The rich history of ancient Rome warrants a look at another piece, the Cornucopia clip. With its origins in Greek mythology, the horn of plenty references a container with the ability to infinitely replenish fruits and flowers.

Naples

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The Maison's gemologists carefully selected the stones on the Ninfe necklace to form a well-orchestrated symmetry between rubies, pink sapphires and spessartite garnets, which depict a flower crown at first glance.

Related article: Van Cleef & Arpels Takes Us On A Journey Through The Poetry Of Time

Baden-Baden

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The Schäppel ring is a vivid palette of joyful colours featuring emeralds, rubies, pink and yellow sapphires, spessartite garnets and diamonds. Inspired by the flamboyant crowns worn during Baden-Baden's traditional festivals in the Black Forest, the ring reimagines the volume and beauty of traditional headdresses.