Making his debut at Richemont Group in 1992, Nicolas Bos joined Van Cleef & Arpels in 2000 where he became the maison’s Creative and Marketing Director. His fresh and modern vision contributed to his success and paved his way to become VCA’s Vice President in 2009, while remaining Creative Director. In 2013, Bos was appointed the house’s global President and CEO – upholding the tradition of excellence and creativity that sets Van Cleef & Arpels apart in the world of jewelry and watchmaking.
AzyaaMode had the wonderful opportunity to sit down with Bos to discuss his innate passion for jewelry design and watchmaking, the sources of inspiration behind the house’s latest reveals and the challenges he faces today.
You made your debut at Richemont Group in 1992 and it took you 21 years only to get to what you are now. Have you always been drawn to jewelry design and watchmaking?
I was always drawn to arts and culture: literature, visual cuts, furniture design… I actually got to discover the world of jewelry in the past twenty years and fell in love with it.
How do you feel about being the president and CEO of one of the biggest and most luxurious jewelry houses?
I feel proud and blessed of that achievement. My goal is now to perpetuate the Van Cleef & Arpels history leadership in the High Jewelry and Watchmaking world.
What are the challenges you face when creating a new collection and how do you get inspired?
One of the main challenges we face when designing a new collection is to remain faithful to our identity while innovating in both designs and techniques. Van Cleef & Arpels will keep drawing its inspiration from its patrimony and remain faithful to its DNA, its creative vitality and its search for innovation.
We will continue to bring our unique spirit to our audience. With our boutiques network, we expect to offer the same high standards and enchanting universe to an international clientele.
Looking at Van Cleef & Arpels’ jewelry pieces, we notice that natural elements have been a main source of inspiration in collections such as “Les Voyages Extraordinaires”, “Les Jardins”, “L’Atlantide” and recently the “Seven Seas”. Can you tell us a bit about the house’s story with nature?
Nature has been a cherished source of inspiration since the foundation. It is important to Van Cleef & Arpels to keep a joyful and positive vision in every possible way. Since its beginnings, the Maison has used animals/creatures as a source of inspiration in a delightful, playful and poetic way.
In VCA’s latest reveals, the world of the sea was the founding theme. How did you decide to take this direction while creating the “Seven Seas” collection?
The “Seven Seas” collection pays tribute to cultural and dreamlike worlds. Like a travel memoir, we collate treasures and impressions, transposed into jewelry by the language of gems. Different colors associations describe Van Cleef & Arpels interpretation of each ocean and sea. The far reaches of the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean have inspired streams of light, while dazzling associations of materials evoke the Red and Black Seas.
With this collection we wanted to let our clients escape and dive into the endlessness of the oceans and horizon.
Elements of this collection were inspired by the Océan necklace/Tiara - a wedding gift given to the Princess Charlene of Monaco by Prince Albert II. How does the Pangée necklace and earring set revisit the story of the historic piece?
An emblem of the collection is the Pangée set - in white gold and diamonds. Pangea, “Pangée” in French, was a single continent that separated 200 millions of years ago, creating the seven seas. The necklace draws inspiration from the Océan tiara/necklace, which was created by Van Cleef & Arpels for H.S.H. Princess Charlène of Monaco as a wedding gift from H.S.H. Prince Albert II. A tribute to H.S.H. the Princess’ passion for the sea, the Maison created the tiara – which is transformable into a necklace – to symbolize the delicate waves of the oceans.
How do you choose the gems that adorn every high-jewelry piece you create?
In the “Seven Seas” collection, the most exquisite stones are used to explore the sea’s multiple shades: gradations of turquoise and emerald green, yellow and blue sapphires, and the highest quality of diamonds.
Transcending such a strict criteria as clarity, color, cut or weight, the stones represent an encounter, a secret alchemy that awakens the senses. We name them Pierres de Caractère™. And of course time is of the essence since it often takes years for our experts to source these unique stones from all over the world.
The turtle has a noticeable presence in the collection and precisely in Trois Tortues clip. How did it become a cherished motif for Van Cleef & Arpels?
The Turtle has been a cherished source of inspiration for Van Cleef & Arpels since the 1950s, along with a collection of animal clips. Today, the turtle is significant in many cultures. In Japan, it embodies luck; in Africa it means fertility; in China it represents the universe.
The Trois Tortues clip represents three little creatures swimming in an Indian file through waves of white gold and diamonds. A thick layer of white mother-of-pearl was carefully sculpted to provide their shells with luster and relief while their eyes are depicted by delicate sapphire cabochons.
Who’s the woman who best embodies Van Cleef & Arpels’ jewelry?
The Van Cleef & Arpels client is an admirer of beauty. She is elegant, feminine and refined.
Mirella Haddad
