Gold beads that reflect the light. That’s the simple though tremendously successful idea behind the Perlée collection by Van Cleef & Arpels. The Parisian jeweller has used the golden bead detail—the technique, often seen in antique jewellery, is also called millegrain—for decades, though it wasn’t until the ’40s that the maison elevated it to a design signature on its creations. Then in 2008, Van Cleef & Arpels birthed the Perlée line, turning a little detail into a burgeoning collection of gold bead jewels in their own right.
In the nearly two decades since, the Perlée collection has grown to include a variety of ring, bracelet, earring, necklace, timepiece and even secret wrist and pendant watch styles. But there’s a desire in the air these days for stylish, easy-to-wear, everyday pieces crafted not just in gleaming gold but with a light touch of precious gemstones to give it a more special quality. Van Cleef & Arpels has, it seems, taken a graceful measure of the moment with the introduction of a new ring style to the Perlée line: a three-row design with a choice of diamonds, emeralds, rubies or sapphires set on the diagonal.
The ring’s silhouette is familiar, echoing an earlier five-row style, with lines of beads—in a choice of yellow, white or rose gold—that are wider at the top and taper at the bottom. The three-row design is a little daintier and smaller, easier now to incorporate into a daily stack or to wear as part of a jewel ensemble. It toes a sweet, precious line between playing graciously with other pieces and having enough beauty to stand on its own.
This use of gemstones on the Perlée ring may seem a small detail, but its simplicity and subtlety belies the careful craft that Van Cleef & Arpels puts into each creation. To accentuate the spherical line of the Perlée beads, the jeweller chose to use the nail setting technique, in which the prongs that secure the gemstones are rounded and polished so that those too are mini beads of gold. On diamonds: even though the ring uses nine relatively small stones, Van Cleef & Arpels is unrelenting in standards. The maison, in general and in this instance, only accepts and uses diamonds from the top D to F colour range and IF to VVS clarity grades.
As for coloured gemstones, the brand has opted to spotlight the big three: emeralds, rubies and sapphires. True to the ethos of an haute joaillerie maison, coloured gems are selected with an exacting and deeply artistic eye. Because this stripe of gems on the Perlée ring is so subtle a touch, Van Cleef & Arpels has chosen to use stones that demonstrate only the best, classical ideal colours—velvety, radiant blue sapphires; passionately saturated red rubies; and vibrant, verdant green emeralds.
The Vogue Singapore May 2026 edition is available to pre-order online.
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Perlée Couleurs ring in rose gold with rubies, $12,200
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Perlée Diamonds ring in rose gold with diamonds, $10,200
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Perlée Couleurs ring in yellow gold with sapphires, $8,650
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Perlée Couleurs ring in yellow gold with emeralds, $12,700
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Perlée Diamonds ring in yellow gold with diamonds, $10,200
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