To bring her colorful storybook to life, Gastaut was inspired by the lightness and warm breeze of the spring season. The colors of the natural world are the primary palette for the installations, evoking the freshness of early spring and cherry blossoms: vibrant greens  and pinks, gradually opening up to encompass the full palette of the rainbow. The Maison first collaborated with the illustrator in 2018 for the creation of visuals, which accompanied the Quatre contes de Grimm High Jewelry collection. Five years later, the Charlotte Gastaut's illustrations adorn the New York flagship boutique and the sidewalk of the Fifth Avenue, allowing the vistitors to enter her blooming universe. 

From the moment French High Jewelry and Watchmaking Maison Van Cleef & Arpels first crossed the Atlantic, it established a special relationship with New York. Members of American high society with a taste for exceptional pieces had fallen in love with the Maison in Place Vendôme during the 1930s. In 1939, the Arpels family sailed to New York on board the Queen Mary to attend the World’s Fair, where they presented “the Parisian style” in its French Pavilion. The general public was enchanted by the virtuosity of the jewels – which were specially designed for the occasion – and their inventiveness. 

Encouraged by that success, the Maison – which had settled in Rockefeller Center in 1939 – opened its boutique at 744 Fifth Avenue in 1942. Located in a magnificent late-1920s building, this historic address is today one of Van Cleef & Arpels’ most emblematic boutiques, symbolizing its enduring relationship with the United States.