Van Cleef & Arpels Lacquered Butterflies: Catch a glimpse of this new 2020 poetic collaboration

 

 

Butterflies embody finesse, grace, and ephemeral beauty.

French Jewelry Maison Van Cleef & Arpels has always had a strong affection for butterflies, striving to reflect and capture their natural beauty in a free and spontaneous way. These fragile creatures fascinate onlookers, embodying finesse, grace and melancholy. They have been a constant inspiration for the Maison’s creations. The French luxury jewelry, watch, and perfume company has given carte blanche to Korean Artist Junichi Hakose to display the graceful Lacquered Butterflies and make them come to life.

These butterflies induce the bittersweet feeling of having been witness to the dazzling circus of life.

Dedicated to high-quality craftsmanship and always in search of exceptional savoir-faire, Van Cleef & Arpels has created the Lacquered Butterflies collection in association with Junichi Hakose – a talented Japanese lacquer-artisan.

These exquisite butterflies blend history and Nature. Located in Wajima, his workshop belongs to the craft industry which masters the techniques of lacquer. The skill and attention to detail on display are highly impressive.

Each lacquered piece is individually handcrafted, making them unique works of art.

Van Cleef & Arperls’ School of Jewelry Arts has even a new course dedicated to Japanese Urushi Lacquer. At the jeweler’s bench, the students work with metal & vegetable ivory to create motifs on a butterfly jewel. In the lacquer workshop, using tools and materials from far away, the participants create their own lacquered butterfly, praticing three of the lacquer master’s ancestral techniques: placing colors, Maki-e, mosaics in mother of pearl.