Van Cleef & Arpels Pink Enamel Alhambra: One Collection, Infinite Combinations

By Radhika Vissanji (@asafetypin)

Image courtesy: @asafetypin

September 1st: the launch of the Van Cleef & Arpels Pink Enamel Alhambra collection was highlighted on my calendar, competing with my daughter’s 19th birthday soon after.

As the day dawned and I walked into the store right at opening time, pink macarons and champagne awaited me in the beautiful VIP room in Singapore. The room, inspired by the botanical gardens of Singapore, was landscaped with a thousand shades of green and the prettiest of orchids. My beautiful sales associate walked in with a tray full of pink enamel Alhambra collection, and I was transfixed.

As I sat contemplating the pieces in front of me, beautifully arranged in the tray, I carefully evaluated every piece: the 10-motif necklace, the 20-motif necklace, the 2-motif earrings that are so hard to procure now, the single pendant, and the 5-motif bracelet.

The videos on socials do no justice to the magnificence of the pink enamel. Its translucency, dappled gold texture, and the raspberry-pink shade that has redefined the it-pink are best captured in PurseBop’s unboxing.

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I tried on each of the pieces. The earrings looked magnificent against the sunlight as it shone through the enamel, revealing the radiance of the pink. The necklaces were gorgeous. Double-layering the 20-motif pink enamel looked like a dream, while the 10-motif was one I knew I would reach for most often, being so easy to wear.

The bracelet was a no-brainer. Okay, let me put it this way: if you bought every piece in this collection, there were so many ways you could mix and match lengths. A 20-motif, 10-motif, or 5-motif with each other, or with any other Alhambra you already own, to create your own unique piece. Every piece in the collection had its own appeal.

Image courtesy: @asafetypin

And this is where the collection really came alive: playing with the pieces and discovering how they could be combined.

Link your gold guilloché 10-motif to a pink enamel 10-motif, and you have a 20-motif necklace you can layer short or wear long.

Image courtesy: @asafetypin

Image courtesy: @asafetypin

Link the bracelet to the single pink enamel pendant and adjust the position of the chain, and you get a beautiful central Alhambra pendant with a side slide, paired with a row of raspberry-pink Alhambra motifs for the perfect balance.

Link the 10-motif to the 20-motif and you can create three layers around your neck, or wear the 10-motif as a choker with the 20-motif as a long necklace. Equally stunning.

Image courtesy: @asafetypin

Image courtesy: @asafetypin

Link the 20-motif to any 5-motif bracelet on one side and let it hang straight in a line, then turn it back and wear it as an accessory to accentuate your back with a low-back or backless top. Creativity and imagination when linking Alhambra pieces and making them your own have no limits. The best part is that you can combine these pretty pink pieces with the bracelets and necklaces you already own. The possibilities are endless.

Image courtesy: @asafetypin

Image courtesy: @asafetypin

I was in a dilemma, though. I already own the 2-motif guilloché and carnelian earrings. Carnelian is similar in shade to the pink enamel when it transitions to a deeper, ruby-like colour, devoid of sunlight. So the earrings were similar to the pink enamel earrings and could pass off as a match to a pink enamel necklace, which for me was the 10-motif, as the carnelian guilloché alternating 20-motif was staying rent-free in my head and did not come in a 10-motif.

It all fell into place beautifully. The carnelian earrings matched the 10-motif pink enamel necklace and the bracelet. Of course, I would not give that a miss.

My pink enamel VCA set was looking like a dream. Everything worked when put together.

It always does, miraculously. That’s the magic of owning a Van Cleef & Arpels jewel.

The wishlist never gets over…