Written In The Stars

For its new high jewellery collection, Van Cleef & Arpels collaborated with eminent astrophysicist dr isabelle grenier to create its cosmos-inspired pieces. In an exclusive interview, Grenier tells us how she helped the collection come to life — and of her discoveries from the stars

- Hillary Kang

The cosmos has always provided a wealth inspiration to artists throughout time. Parisian jeweller Van Cleef & Arpels is no exception: Its latest high jewellery collection – titled Sous les étoiles, or Heavenly Dreams in English – draws inspiration from the galaxy.

And the 140-piece collection isn’t just an frivolous flight of fancy – much of it is grounded in real science as well. Numerous pieces reference real life events that have happened in space: The sinuous Boucle Cosmique necklace references the formation of the Thor’s Helmet nebula around a giant star. The Ison cuff bracelet was named for the comet that disintegrated into a radiant cloud after passing too close to the sun in 2013, a rare astronomical phenomenon. The Antennae necklace refers to the eponymous collision of two galaxies — an event that began 500 million years ago. This added scientific background gives the collection an dimension of both authenticity and wonder.

Van Cleef & Arpels have astrophysicist Dr Isabelle Grenier to thank for that. Grenier received her Ph. D. in astrophysics in 1988, and has spent the last three decades cataloguing the stars – and what lies beyond them.

“The universe is much more colourful, and much more dynamic than people think,” says Grenier. “I showed the designers from Van Cleef & Arpels pictures and videos from our telescopes to show them that the universe is constantly moving, constantly changing.”

What made you want to collaborate with Van Cleef & Arpels on this collection?