Art in Orbit

Golden beads, secret watches, and a new artistic collaboration—the Maison’s Perlée collection returns with playful grandeur and signature savoir-faire

Graceful and luminous, the new Perlée collection by Van Cleef & Arpels captures the Maison’s talent for turning simplicity into seduction, and gold into poetry. At the heart of these creations lies the golden bead—a Maison signature that transforms geometry into poetry, and ornament into art. Re-imagined with luminous stones, sculptural volumes, and secret surprises, the new collection is a celebration of lightness, movement, and refined whimsy. 

With every piece, Perlée reflects the spirit of Van Cleef & Arpels: a house where legacy meets invention, and where each jewel whispers a story shaped by beauty, heritage, and exceptional savoir-faire.

The Perlée collection is Van Cleef & Arpels at its most elemental, where form and finesse converge in a single motif: the golden bead. Rooted in the ancient art of granulation, these gleaming orbs have traced the Maison’s history—from the bold contours of the 1948 Couscous bracelet to the delicate curves of the Alhambra motif introduced in 1968.

But in Perlée, the bead is no longer just an accent, it is the star.

Rounded, radiant, and impossibly harmonious, each bead reflects light with a joyful rhythm, lending the collection its signature sense of movement and clarity. They speak a universal design language: playful yet composed, architectural yet fluid. In a world often defined by excess, Perlée offers quiet glamour—a reminder that simplicity, when perfected, is the ultimate sophistication. Whether strung delicately across a ring or encircling the wrist in gold-dusted precision, the bead becomes more than material; it becomes emotion made visible.

This season, Perlée unfolds in a crescendo of preciousness, offering creations that shimmer with individuality while maintaining the collection’s signature symmetry and charm. From sculpted rings to delicate earrings, the collection balances minimalist elegance with sumptuous craftsmanship.

In the Perlée Signature line, rings and bracelets crafted in white, rose, or yellow gold exude an effortless purity and sculptural grace. Their surfaces are adorned with solely polished golden beads, making each curve feel architectural and serene. For those drawn to symbolism, the Perlée Clovers collection brings the Maison’s cherished motif of luck to life, with stylized four-leaf patterns traced in radiant beads and brilliant diamonds.

Meanwhile, With Perlée Couleurs, vibrant hues take center stage, stones such as turquoise, malachite, and coral are set within gleaming gold, their natural and untreated clarity carefully preserved. That’s not all, then comes the opulent sparkle of Perlée Diamonds: five rows of rose or white gold beads interspersed with diamonds that catch and scatter light with every movement. These asymmetric compositions add a dynamic edge to the collection, allowing pieces to be layered or worn alone in quiet majesty.

True to Van Cleef & Arpels’ standards, each gemstone is handpicked with a collector’s eye: diamonds from D to F in color, IF to VVS in clarity, and colored stones celebrated for their crystalline depth and natural brilliance. The result? Jewelry that glows, not just with light, but with legacy and pride.

In the world of Van Cleef & Arpels, time is never simply measured—it is adorned, concealed, and re-imagined. With the new Perlée timepieces, the Maison continues its tradition of crafting jewels that tell time, fusing haute horlogerie with haute joaillerie in elegant harmony.

At first glance, the Perlée watches appear like exquisite bracelets—slender, luminous, and perfectly balanced. But look closer, and you’ll discover dials crafted in guilloché white mother-of-pearl, gently encased within golden beaded frames. The delicate structure is held in place by a discreet central attachment, a subtle nod to Van Cleef’s aesthetic signatures.

The true enchantment, however, lies in the secret watches, pieces that veil the passage of time behind layers of artistry. The Perlée Secret Pendant watch, for instance, hides its dial beneath a beaded disc set with rubies and diamonds, while the Toi & Moi Secret Watch balances twin dials like a duet, echoing themes of love and duality.

Invisible mechanisms, such as a hidden push-button to set the time, elevate the technical mastery. And with interchangeable straps in leather or grosgrain, each timepiece can shift from day to night with seamless grace, proof that practicality and poetry can indeed coexist.

What is special about this season’s Perlée collection is that it arrives with a visual storybook crafted by long-time collaborator Arthur Hoffner, a French designer whose sculptural imagination transforms the collection into an atmospheric dreams-cape. Since 2018, Hoffner has brought his signature playfulness and precision to Van Cleef & Arpels campaigns—but this year, his vision is more enchanting than ever.

Set against a stylized snowy village, his backdrop of geometric forms, arches, spheres, and delicate slopes create a miniature world where jewelry appears to move with the light. It’s not merely a setting but a mood: poetic, architectural, and serene.

Hoffner’s affinity for spheres resonates deeply with Perlée’s essence. “The sphere is almost too perfect to be of this Earth,” he muses, an idea echoed in every golden bead. His interpretation gives the collection a new narrative dimension, one that marries fantasy and form. Like the jewelry itself, his visuals whisper of quiet luxury artful, intentional, and impossible to forget.

Behind every piece in the Perlée collection lies the Maison’s uncompromising commitment to exceptional craftsmanship, a philosophy that turns metal and mineral into living art. From the first sketch to the final polish, each creation is shaped by the hands of expert artisans, drawing on techniques passed down through generations. Iconic to Van Cleef & Arpels, the golden beads are sculpted with exceptional precision—generous in form, flawlessly smooth, and mirror-polished to catch and reflect light with breathtaking clarity. Whether arranged in fluid lines or clustered with precious stones, the beads create a tactile richness that’s instantly recognizable.

When set with diamonds or vibrant stones, each piece undergoes openwork detailing, allowing light to pass through and illuminate the stones from within.

This interplay of light magnifies their natural brilliance while maintaining the collection’s signature airiness. Even the mechanisms behind the timepieces are artfully concealed, ensuring that functionality never compromises beauty. Each element, every clasp, every stone, every bead bears the Maison’s signature of attention to detail. It’s not just jewelry, but a legacy of excellence, designed to be cherished across generations.

To own a piece from the Perlée collection is to step into the storied world of Van Cleef & Arpels, a world shaped not by fleeting trends, but by enduring codes, timeless beauty, and a quiet sense of exclusivity. The golden bead, now a house signature, first graced the Maison’s creations in the late 1940s and has since become a symbol of its refined identity.

From the Couscous wristwatch of 1949 to the beloved Alhambra motif that debuted in 1968, golden beads have traced the outlines of Van Cleef’s most iconic designs. Over the decades, they’ve appeared alongside whimsical animal clips, vivid gemstones, and sculptural silhouettes. Yet in Perlée, the motif reaches its full expression, elevated from decorative flourish to elemental form.

And while the aesthetic remains open and joyful, the sense of rarity is unmistakable. Each piece is a testament to precision, restraint, and artistic qualities that define the Van Cleef & Arpels woman. In a world saturated with spectacle, Perlée offers a different kind of luxury: intimate, eternal, and exquisitely French.

There are jewels that dazzle, and then there are jewels that stay with you, not just on the skin, but in memory, in feeling, in the quiet assertion of elegance they lend to every gesture. Perlée belongs to the latter. It doesn’t clamor for attention; it glows. With each golden bead, Van Cleef & Arpels invites you into a world where time slows, beauty speaks softly, and every detail is a promise kept. Whether it circles your wrist or rests gently at your collarbone, a Perlée creation doesn’t merely adorn, it transforms. It reminds you that luxury isn’t about more; it’s about meaning. And perhaps, that’s what makes Van Cleef & Arpels irresistible.