Van Cleef & Arpels'newly refurbished Hong Kong flagship store combines its iconic former features with the city’s quintessential nature and architecture to dazzling effect.Designed by Parisian architects Patrick Jouin and Sanjit Manku, the refurbished store reflects the city's key characteristics in its interior with a blend of nature and contemporary architecture.

While Van Cleef & Arpels' history in Hong Kong dates back to the 1980s when Jacques Arpels opened the brand's first point of sale in the Landmark, the current store was fitted out in 2011. A long-standing partner of the house, the Jouin Manku agency conceptualised the boutique as a shimmering bamboo forest with an exterior of glass tubes and a brightly lit interior complementing the shiny cityscape in the backdrop.

Spread over two floors, the boutique's three galleries display high jewellery, watches and fine jewellery in an elegant setting. Inspired by Hong Kong’s modern architecture and lush green hills, the renovated interiors are a combination of contrasting spaces.

While the central rooms exude an old-world charm with their smoked oak panelling and delicate floral motifs on the walls, the large vertical display cases inject a sense of loftiness inspired by the skyscrapers of Hong Kong.

Finished in off-white, beige and laurel green, the other spaces in the showroom are beautifully linked together by an iconic staircase, a centrepiece of the boutique preserved during the renovation, made of oak steps that were specially smoked to blend harmoniously into the surrounding environment.With its huge round chandelier on the second floor illuminating the entire glass facade, the boutique looks its best at night with passers-by on both sides of the road able to get a glimpse of the glittering interior.