Interview: The Astrophysicist Behind Van Cleef & Arpels' High Jewellery Collection

In an exclusive interview, eminent astrophysicist Dr Isabelle Grenier tells us how she helped to bring the collection to life — and of her discoveries from the stars.

The cosmos has always provided a wealth inspiration to artists throughout time. Parisian jeweller Van Cleef & Arpels is no exception: Its latest high jewellery collection – titled Sous les étoiles, or Heavenly Dreams in English – draws inspiration from the galaxy. And the 140-piece collection isn’t just an frivolous flight of fancy – much of it is grounded in real science as well.

Numerous pieces reference real life events that have happened in space: The Antennae necklace, for example, refers to the eponymous collision of two galaxies — an event that began 500 million years ago. This added scientific background gives the collection an dimension of both authenticity and wonder.

Van Cleef & Arpels have astrophysicist Dr Isabelle Grenier to thank for that. Grenier received her Ph. D. in astrophysics in 1988, and has spent the last three decades cataloguing the stars – and what lies beyond them.

“The universe is much more colourful, and much more dynamic than people think,” says Grenier. “I showed the designers from Van Cleef & Arpels pictures and videos from our telescopes to show them that the universe is constantly moving, constantly changing.”

Dr Grenier is known for her work in high-energy astronomy, and has worked with NASA and research institutions across the globe.

What made you want to collaborate with Van Cleef & Arpels on this collection?
The subject was really interesting to me, because previously, all the jewellers that try to capture stars in collections back in the ’30s or ’40s, they really just captured what they saw, and they translated that into white and black – using white gold, platinum pearls diamonds.

And I was discussing with Nicolas [Bos, the CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels] how interesting it is today: The fact that science today tells us that the universe is much more lively, much more colourful than people suspect. Because people mostly just see the black sky and white stars every night. But the fact is that, through our modern telescopes, we can see that the universe is much more colourful, and also much more dynamic than people think.

What was the creative process like with the artists and designers for Van Cleef & Arpels?
At the beginning, when they were trying to draw some ideas, I showed them pictures – modern pictures taken by the big telescopes – and also videos so that they could capture the fact that the universe is constantly moving and changing. It’s something that you don’t see with your eyes because you really need, either a telescope, or, if you want to see something like a stellar explosion, you need millennia and centuries in order to see that very slow change.

I shared with them the results of my work – I explained to them things like, you know, how a star is born, how it lives and dies like anything else in the universe, showing them eruptions from the sun. So it was really about presenting to them the whole palette of colours and the shapes that we can find in the universe.

I also helped to find proper names for the pieces, because the names you would find on the internet were not always accurate; like not giving a comet name to a galaxy, or things like that. [laughs] It’s also a really nice time for science and art to connect more, because I think we have to learn from each other.

Were there any specific pieces from the collection that really fascinated you?
Nearly all of them. If I had to pick one I would be in trouble, because I like them very much – nearly all the big pieces are just fantastic. And they were fantastic because the artists and jewellers really managed to capture the very delicate colours, those very delicate shapes, and made them even better than the drawings.

I think there’s a reason to that: The fact that stones capture light. I mean, all the shapes that we’re looking at in the universe are made of shapes of light, because we don’t see the matter. We just see the light they emit, and there’s a transparency to those images that it’s very difficult to capture.

I have painter friends who have tried, and it’s very, very difficult. And in the end it doesn’t really look really like the original object because of the lack of transparency – but gemstones can capture that light, and therefore give depth and nuances in the colour that you ordinarily cannot see.

How far do you think we’ve come in terms of understanding the universe?
I think we’re not very far on in our understanding, because it helps to remember that something like 95 per cent of the energy in the universe – we know it’s there, but we have no idea what it is. So, I wouldn’t say, when you miss 95 per cent of the information that you’ve understood everything by far! [laughs]

Colour, for instance, was a big change in the ’80s to end of 20th century. We could then use all the colours possible to show a universe that is very different from our understanding – and when I mean colours, I mean x-rays, infrared, ultraviolet – all the colours. Not just those you see with your eyes.

Now we’ve learned to use, to interpret those colours in terms of physics and try and understand what they are showing us – sometimes. [laughs]

What made you want to become an astrophysicist in the first place?
I can even remember the year: It was in 1969 when the Americans went to the moon, the Apollo program. And I was a kid at school, and I had a great teacher – he thought that us kids wouldn’t realise how incredible this event was, to be able to fly into the moon and have people walk on it. So during the year he had us learn about the solar system, and the distances, and why there were a star, planets – and that fascination never left me.

Ultimately, what do you think you’re trying to achieve with your work?
We’re very modest as astrophysicists. Because every time we think we understand something, then the data flows in from another point of view and we end up going: “Oh, no, maybe I wasn’t right.” [laughs] The universe makes you very modest very quickly. If you think you’re smart? Forget it.

I think the exploration phase is really on now. We’re just like space voyagers just looking and finding that the universe is so amazingly diverse, and so amazingly different from what we thought. Every time we sent probes into the solar system, each time people would say, “Oh that planet is going to be about as boring as the moon” – and we ended up having glaciers, volcanoes, oceans, and tons of things.

I mean, when you think that we have come so far – we kind of really don’t know that much at all. And I’m sure I’m sure this goes with an astrophysicist to 200 years from now, you’d be really surprised about what we think we understand today.