Van Cleef & Arpels has just launched a new line of jew­els suit­able for the pre-teen set and/or the youthful–or maternal–at heart. The col­lec­tion, enti­tled Sweet Alham­bra, has a happy-go-lucky-whistle-tune that reminds me of those now highly col­lectible charm bracelets from the 1950s. It con­sists of an assort­ment of VCA best­sellers, the 4-leaf clover, heart, and but­ter­fly done in minia­ture and strung on chains and bracelets. There is also a but­ter­fly ring that has a quiet sim­plic­ity, which clearly demon­strates that VCA can do charm­ing as well as they do spec­tac­u­lar. And while the col­lec­tion, over­all, has a jewelry-collector-in-training feel, there are some fash­ion­able ideas that can still be worked into a wardrobe, espe­cially if you are a fan of layering.

Pair­ing grad­u­at­ing lengths of neck­laces or bracelets is prac­ti­cal for many rea­sons, espe­cially if the chunky-chic orna­ments shown for fall just do not speak to you. Lay­er­ing is a great way to expand a theme or pro­vide a more sub­stan­tial look with­out the actual heft. How­ever, this should be done with a bit of retraint so as not to look like you’ve just won a free fifteen-minute shop­ping spree at Kay Jewelers.

The VCA aes­thetic is always about the lyri­cal and so these pieces also vary in their diminu­tive sizes, one tiny and the other, slightly (very slightly), larger, which is rather a lovely con­cept. Alter­nat­ing the pro­por­tions of each pen­dant is a nice way to main­tain move­ment in your composition—think of them as notes on a music staff where the eye and the ear are encour­aged to fol­low along…