INFINITY and BEYOND

espite its 150 designs, Van Cleef & Arpels’s Sous les Étoiles collection is by no means the maison’s largest. Instead, what makes the high jewellery collection truly remarkable is the depth of research and imagination that went into its making—and, of course, the brilliant results that ensued. Poised at the intersection of fantasy and science in true Van Cleef & Arpels (VCA) form, the starry works draw from the influential texts of 17-century German Renaissance man, astronomer Johannes Kepler, and Camille Flammarion, a French author and astronomer of the century. Complementing these are the high-definition works of French astrophysicist Isabelle Grenier, whose impressive portfolio would have Sheldon of grovelling for a lunch date at the cafeteria. According to President and CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels Nicolas Bos, the journey has been one of much discovery for the Maison—and the wonderment and awe it felt informs every one of the collection’s creations.