To bring the play's fairies, flowers, and butterflies to life, Van Cleef's artisans fashioned necklaces, bracelets, clips, and rings from a variety of precious gems. The 7-centimeter-tall Caresse d'Eole Fairy Clip, illustrated above, is set in white gold and pave diamond; a rose-cut pear-shaped diamond forms the sprite's face, a round diamond her resting place.

Whether the Midsummer Night's Dream collection will be around as long as its namesake is anyone's guess. But Van Cleef & Arpels haven't thrived for a century without knowing that jewelry, like all art, can be meaningful and mythical--that it can tell a story, quiet a room, and crystallize the moment when we are all, for a moment, under the spell of magic.

Richard Dorment is an editorial assistant for Interview.