Couture Special: Van Cleef & Arpels, Bals de Légende Collection

Van Cleef & Arpels' high jewellery collection "Bals de Légende" is inspired by five of the greatest balls of the century. The five different balls provide rich material for a collection brimming with creativity. Van Cleef & Arpels interprets the most magnificent balls of the century into jewels. Diamonds capture the brilliance of fireworks, miniature figurines dance in fancy dress and the munificence of the greatest hosts is expressed in this new collection rich in detail and colour. Each ball was a different experience from the other and so are the five jewellery collections. The Palais d'Hiver in St Petersburg on a cold February night in 1903 evokes the splendour of the Russian aristocracy under Nicolas 11. For this special night, all the guests dressed Russian-style and the opulence of bejewelled robes and head pieces is interpreted in the Van Cleef & Arpels jewels. I love the Zima lapis lazuli bead necklace with a large diamond clips outlining frosty church domes and large snowflakes while the Providence ring with a 20,12 carat emerald and violet and pink sapphires reminds me of the exoticism of Imperial Russia. The Bal du Siècle was hosted in Venice in 1951 by the glamorous Mexican-Spanish silver baron, Charles de Beistegui. This masked ball inspired jewels full of references to baroque glory, masquerades and architecture. Fifteen years later, the Black and White Ball rocked New York in November 1966 to celebrate Truman Capote's successful writing career and a gift from Capote to himself - and hundreds of his friends.  Perhaps this is my favourite collection with its black and white ArtDeco inspired jewels that pick up on the architecture of Manhattan's early skyscrapers. The Bal Oriental lit up Paris in December 1956 as guests in costumes danced the night away. Eastern magnificence is ripe for interpretation in gems and the Oriental Fabric necklace with its vibrant yellow, blue and pink colours speaks of the opulence of Asia. Le Bal Proust held in Ferrières in December 1971 celebrated the centenary of the birth of Proust and was  hosted by Baron Guy de Rothschild and his wife. Each guest came dressed as their favourite Proust character opening up a whole universe of possibilities for both the guests and later Van Cleef & Arpels. Elizabeth Taylor came wearing a diamonds in her hair to splendid effect and Marisa Berenson chose a dramatic black feathered head dress and a very long cigarette holder. The chrysoprase and diamond Clemencenecklace stands out for its incredible colour and striking simplicity. Watch the videos of the story behind each of these splendid balls, as told by the experts [youtube width="620" height="344"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlWdMHTGZLU[/youtube] [youtube width="620" height="344"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wR4VbGqo7N8[/youtube] [youtube width="620" height="344"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m04e7tikRk&feature=related[/youtube] [youtube width="620" height="344"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJ83UbNSP-A&feature=related[/youtube] [youtube width="620" height="344"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj2mPIhySGo&feature=related[/youtube]