See You Later, Alligator?: Bibi van der Velden’s High Jewellery Debut

Bibi van der Velden is the latest independent jewellery designer to make the leap into High Jewellery with her new collection, Eclipse. The designs are much more abstract than the lifelike depictions of animals that have become her signature, but there is no mistaking the Dutch designer’s hand. I recognised the silhouette of an alligator in the earrings immediately, even though the reptile has been reduced to little more than a suggestion of its form.

Launching on 6 November, Eclipse comprises two six-piece suites that take her preoccupation with the natural world into more precious territory than ever before. “It was important to me that Eclipse still felt intrinsically connected to my work, even without an obvious alligator in sight,” explains Bibi. Gone is the playful realism of her earlier animal designs, replaced by a closer examination of the geometry, texture and movement of the alligator’s body.

Bibi’s Enchanted Forest collection, unveiled earlier this year, featured frogs, tadpoles and even frogspawn recreated in extraordinary detail using abalone shell, carved rock crystal, opals and diamonds. For Eclipse, she has turned her attention to the alligator’s armoured body, arranging rows of baguette-cut and square-cut diamonds to mimic its scales.

The alligator reference is most subtle in the Eclipse rings and bangles, where the creature’s head, tail and other recognisable features have been stripped away, leaving an abstract pattern of scales. The necklaces and earrings, meanwhile, are made up of individually articulated sections, allowing the jewels to undulate like the tail of an alligator propelling itself through water. Bibi has never been a fan of traditional clasps, preferring to incorporate fastening mechanisms into her designs wherever possible. In Eclipse, the alligator’s mouth serves as the necklace’s clasp. 

One Eclipse suite is set entirely with white diamonds, while the other graduates from white diamonds through grey diamonds to smoky and black spinels. Dégradé has become a familiar technique in jewellery making in recent years, creating gradations of colour in gemstones. Here, Bibi uses it to explore variations in light and shadow, taking inspiration from moonlight. “I wanted the jewellery to capture that gradual transition between light and darkness, the moment when everything becomes a little mysterious and the world takes on these wonderful shades of silver, grey and black.”

The choice of metal was equally deliberate. Bibi has opted for natural, unplated 18k white gold, which has a warmer, champagne-coloured tone that complements the monochromatic palette. Every piece is handmade in the house’s Amsterdam atelier, with some also featuring a pattern of engraved alligator scales on the reverse.

For all the technical complexity and precious materials involved, I love that Bibi has resisted the temptation to become too serious with her first High Jewellery collection. As she puts it, “You can recognise the inspiration if you know where to look, but the pieces also exist as sculptures in their own right.” And somewhere beneath all those diamonds, there’s still an alligator lurking, poised to strike.