For eight decades, Van Cleef & Arpels has paid homage to the beauty of dance with a choreograph of gold, gems, and light. The Maison’s ties to the artform date back to the ‘20s, when Louis Arpels frequented Paris’ Opéra Garnier, inspiring the first Dancer clips unveiled in the early ’40s. With their elegant poses and gem-set tutus, these miniature figures quickly became a beloved brand signature shaped by the Maison’s deep fascination with graceful movement, captivating costumes, and enthralling storytelling.

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This enduring dialogue with ballet now expands with a new chapter of the Ballet Précieux collection—a series of 12 ballerina clips that reimagine characters and moments from the classical repertoire. Drawing on works spanning the Romantic era to modern ballet, each figurine captures the nuance of gesture and the emotional charge of performance, with a wardrobe of enchanting costumes thrown in. Sculpted first in green wax to refine posture and volume, the dancers are then cast in gold and hand-polished, before being meticulously set with carefully selected stones that use colour and light to animate every movement.

From the flamenco-inflected energy of Danse de Séville, to the celestial delicacy of Perséide, and the fairytale charm of The Nutcracker’s Masha and the Sugar Plum Fairy, the collection reads like a jewelled corps de ballet. Each piece reaffirms Van Cleef & Arpels’ innate talent for transmuting emotion into gemstones.