Voir la vie en rose means, literally, “to see life in pink”: to look at the world with optimism, to notice its pleasures and to expect happiness rather than disappointment. The expression was already in use in French in the nineteenth century, but it acquired another resonance through Édith Piaf. She wrote La Vie en Rose in 1945, as Europe emerged from the Second World War. A song about the happiness of being in love found its moment in a world longing for tenderness, pleasure and hope again.
For La Vie en Rose, we took the expression quite literally.
Large cabochons of translucent rose quartz became bubbles of pale pink, set in 18-carat rose gold and punctuated by the deeper purple of small amethysts. In the bracelet, six rose quartz cabochons are hinged together, with amethysts marking the ends and the adjustable clasp.
The rings play with the same contrast on a smaller scale. Rose quartz cabochons are surrounded by little amethyst bubbles, turning the combination of pink and purple into a more concentrated composition.
The collection was deliberately joyful. The rounded cabochons suggested bubbles rising through a glass of rosé champagne: pink, translucent and effervescent.
“La Vie en Rose was simply about pleasure. I loved those large, soft pink cabochons and the little points of purple around them. They reminded me of bubbles in a glass of rosé champagne. Sometimes jewellery can have a very simple purpose: you put it on because the colour makes you happy.”
Renilde Vervoort
