Here’s what happens when Van Cleef & Arpels invites you to a jewellery launch as exquisite as a Bridgerton ball at King Charles III’s home in Scotland
If someone had whispered to me that I’d find myself wandering the manicured gardens of a king’s estate in Scotland, champagne flute in hand, watching artisans craft jewels fit for a Regency ballroom, I might have assumed they’d been reading too much Jane Austen. Yet here I was at Dumfries House—one of King Charles’s homes, a neoclassical fantasy made bricks and mortar—feeling rather like I’d stepped straight out of the Netflix show Bridgerton and into the most exquisite jewellery launch imaginable.
Van Cleef & Arpels had summoned us to this corner of Ayrshire not merely for show, but for an experience that felt appropriately regal. The maison’s collaboration with The King’s Foundation spans nearly two decades, and as CEO Catherine Rénier explains while we sit on 18-century Chippendale furniture that could have hosted Lady Whistledown herself, “We support gardens around the world—in Venice, Los Angeles, many cities. But this one was quite meaningful.”
The drive from Marine Troon that morning had been pure cinematic indulgence. Our seaside retreat, perched above the Ayrshire coastline with all the gravitas of a Victorian country house, had served as the perfect prelude to this royal adventure. The hotel’s newly refreshed interiors managed that peculiarly British trick of appearing both grandly historical and utterly contemporary—rather like stumbling upon a secret drawing room where one might expect to find English actor and producer Colin Firth emerging from behind heavy curtains.
But it was Dumfries House itself that truly stole my breath. Approaching the neoclassical façade through 800 hectares of pristine parkland, I half-expected a footman to appear and announce my arrival. Instead, I was greeted by something far more thrilling: the sight of Van Cleef & Arpels’ latest botanical masterpieces glinting in the Scottish sunlight like treasures from some forgotten duchess’s jewel box.
Catherine Rénier CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels (Photo: courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels)
The Flowerlace collection, when I first glimpsed it set up in sheds alongside the estate’s rose beds, struck me as precisely the sort of adornment one might have worn to a high society ball—if only the patronesses had possessed such exquisite taste. Each piece captures the architecture of antique lace with an openworked gold structure, where diamonds appear to float within, like dewdrops on morning spider silk. Five creations bloom in this collection: a ring, a between-the-finger ring that brings flower and diamond together in radiant tête-à-tête, earrings, a pendant and a clip pendant that transforms before your very eyes.
“Both collections are inspired by—not replicas of—pieces from the late 1930s,” Rénier says, gesturing toward an archival silhouette clip that could have graced any society portrait. “This one is the ribbon shape. This is what triggered the idea of the Flowerlace collection. In fact, lace is in the name.” The lineage is unmistakable—the original Silhouette clips from the maison’s 1937 archives broke away from traditional floral representations with their balance of full and empty spaces, the flower outlined in fine gold thread and illuminated with precious stones.
What’s more, the new collections preserve and use the lost-wax casting technique mastered by the brand. Elements are first sculpted in wax; then, when fired, precious metal takes on the shape left by the melted wax impression. The petals are gently curved to add volume, while the pistil features golden beads and different-sized diamonds—all selected according to the strictest criteria, D to F for colour and IF to VVS for purity— creating a subtly asymmetrical composition that expresses nature in motion.
Seeing the transformation of these pieces is like witnessing some elegant drawing room magic trick. Watching the pendant metamorphose into earrings, then worn as a clip, one is reminded of those society ladies who somehow manage to appear at every London season event wearing what seemed like entirely different jewels— though perhaps they are simply more clever about it than we’d imagined.
A model wearing the Flowerlace collection (Photo: courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels)
“Even after almost 120 years, it’s as if every time, we reinvent the wheel,” Rénier laughed, her eyes twinkling with the sort of mischief you’d imagine the original Van Cleef brothers possessed. “The challenge is to have the perfect mechanism that is safe enough but also simple enough that if you pick up your piece ten years later, it will instinctively come to you without having to go to the boutique.”
Fleurs d’Hawaï presented an entirely different sort of enchantment—tropical exuberance that felt like summer house parties transported to Scottish gardens, complete with citrines, aquamarines, peridots and rhodolites that would have made any Regency miss swoon with envy.
“The idea of that collection is that the stones are the petals,” Rénier says. “The fine stones embody and really represent the petals of the flower, and then the diamonds are the centre and the pistil of the flower. We wanted it to be joyful, colourful, with stones that were meaningful for our clients in terms of wearability.”
The practical considerations, she admits with refreshing honesty, proved as crucial as the aesthetic ones: “We depend on what we can source and how quickly we can find and pair them.” The stone sourcing challenges became particularly evident when she mentioned certain coveted materials: “Lapis lazuli— now it’s tough and very difficult [to source]. Turquoise, very difficult, so hold on if you have any.” Which makes one think that even when it comes to a storied jewellery maison such as Van Cleef & Arpels, it seems one must occasionally negotiate with reality.
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Fleurs d’Hawaï aquamarine watch launched at the event (Photo: courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels)
Fleurs d’Hawaï rhodolite ring (Photo: courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels)
Fleurs d’Hawaï citrine ring (Photo: courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels)
Fleurs d’Hawaï peridot ring (Photo: courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels)
Fleurs d’Hawaï citrine watch launched at the event (Photo: courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels)
Fleurs d’Hawaï aquamarine pendant (Photo: courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels)
Fleurs d’Hawaï peridot pendant (Photo: courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels)
Fleurs d’Hawaï amethyst pendant (Photo: courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels)
The workshops that follow feel like attending the most exclusive finishing school imaginable—one where the curriculum includes mastering the brand’s famous mystery setting technique alongside more traditional Scottish crafts. Watching Van Cleef & Arpels’ master artisans, also known as golden hands, demonstrate their almost supernatural ability to mount precious stones so seamlessly that no trace of metal remains visible is rather like watching someone perform actual magic. Rubies slip into their predetermined positions with geometric precision, each movement as calculated and graceful as a minuet.
Between these technical marvels, we find ourselves threading wool through tartan looms—my fingers learning the ancient rhythm of warp and weft while creating textiles in garden-inspired hues that wouldn’t look amiss in any grand estate’s morning room. A perfume-making session proves equally transporting, layering floral essences with alchemical precision while discovering how memory and scent conspire to create something entirely transcendent.
When pressed about balancing heritage with modernity, Rénier’s response is surprisingly practical: “There are innovations within the machinery that really help make the work more accessible, less exhausting for the body and eyes. You have [magnifying glasses] for detailed work—it’s impressive, like this machine where you see super well and it’s super comfortable. All of that makes the job more sustainable in the long term.
We have these [ jewellery work] benches that are totally adjustable for each height—it’s almost custom for them, like a car seat. You don’t want to get into a job for the rest of your life where you get sick.”
A tile inscribed at the entrance of the Van Cleef & Arpels rose garden at Dumfries House (Photo: courtesy of Estelle Hanania / Van Cleef & Arpels)
The maison’s research extends beyond ergonomics into the alchemical realm of enamel work. “ We have a research and development centre and we do a lot of research on enamel,” she explains. “It’s like recipes, really—chemistry and chemical reactions. So there is tradition and innovation. It ’s definitely not an industry that rests on its past. It’s inspired by it but very much looking forward.” Guests wander the rose gardens clutching crystal flutes while canapés circulated on silver trays and, for one blessed hour, the Scottish sun decided to cooperate fully with our fantasies. The original Chippendale furniture dotting the palatial interiors seems to approve of the proceedings, lending an air of historical gravitas to what might otherwise have felt like elaborate theatre.
Evening brings us inside Dumfries House proper for the gala dinner, where the grand halls have been transformed into something approaching a fairy tale. Tables groan beneath seasonal Scottish blooms while candlelight casts dancing shadows across walls that have witnessed centuries of history. Highland dancers move with fluid grace while traditional Scottish melodies filled the air, and I find myself wondering if this was precisely how the Scottish house parties of my imagination had always unfolded.
Throughout the experience, what strikes me most is Van Cleef & Arpels’ romance with the natural world. The collections represent a continuation of botanical themes that stretch back through the maison’s history—from Rose de Noël, with its carved stone petals, to the contemporary exuberance before us. “Rose de Noël is very close to [Fleur d’]Hawai in the sense that the stones are the petals,” Rénier says when asked about the broader floral universe. “But here it’s carved stone, so you need the thickness, the size of the stone to carve the petal. You see the work of asymmetry—randomly placing the petals to look as close to nature as possible.”
This commitment to asymmetry, she reveals, runs deeper than aesthetic choice. “We like things that are not totally symmetrical—more whimsical and, in a way, more natural. Nothing is purely symmetrical in nature. I think jewellery has this continuity that gives a very natural way to bridge the future and the past,” she says. “You’re never looking at something thinking ‘that’s outdated’. When you invest in these pieces—and I use ‘invest’ rather than ‘spend’—it’s for you to keep, to pass on. It’s a very different relationship to a handbag or clothing.”
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The rose garden at His Royal Highness King Charles lll’s estate, Dumfries House, in Scotland (Photo: courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels)
Her observation feels particularly apt right now, when permanence seems increasingly precious. “I think jewellery’s timelessness has a reassuring aspect,” she says. “You know what you invest in because it will be there to stay. You can pass it on to the next generation and it will be appreciated, have meaning and probably a special memory.” When I mention how jewellery feels more sustainable than fashion purchases, she nods in approval. “It’s the timelessness. It has a reassuring aspect, especially in times like these. You work with precious materials— you buy gold, you buy stones, you understand the value first-hand.”
The transformability represents one of the maison’s greatest technical challenges. “Transformability has always been part of our inspiration,” Rénier says, “so we’ve tried in these collections to bring model signatures that have been very much identified with Van Cleef & Arpels.” When asked about expanding the collections—particularly why there were no bracelets—she laughs. “For Fleur d’Hawaï, it may be more challenging, but for Flowerlace, it could definitely see life in the future. We’ll see what the future brings—let us find enough stones on our way.”
Through this conversation and looking at the wealth of archives and knowledge owned and preserved at Van Cleef & Arpels, one wonders what really makes Rénier feel grounded as CEO of such a global enterprise—particularly in uncertain times. She says, “I think you need to focus on what you can influence and so check the true long-term decisions that are important for your creativity, for your brand equity, for your teams. What you [cannot] control, you’ll manage as it comes along. If you start being anxious about everything that could happen, then you stop sleeping at night.” She pauses, looking out over into the parkland outside. “We all need beauty—there’s a reason jewellery existed when people were literally in caves.”
Her words stay with me as the Highland dancers take their final bow and the evening winds down with that particular melancholy that accompanies the end of magical experiences. As I make my way back to Marine Troon through the Scottish countryside, the Flowerlace and Fleurs d’Hawaï pieces safely tucked away in their velvet cases, I find myself thinking about permanence and impermanence, about the flowers that would wilt in Dumfries House’s gardens come autumn and those that would continue blooming forever in precious metal and stone. Rather like the best of our fantasies—and this Scottish sojourn had certainly qualified as that—they offer the tantalising possibility that beauty, once properly captured and crafted with infinite patience, need never fade. Even if we occasionally have to pack up our Bridgerton dreams and return to reality, some flowers, it seems, are designed to bloom forever.
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