Van Cleef & Arpels Jewelry
From the signature Alhambra motif to the luxe Frivole and Perlée collections, Van Cleef & Arpels will go down in history as one of the most iconic brands for its craftsmanship and elegance. Shop our selection of luxe, classic Van Cleef & Arpels fine jewelry below.
Van Cleef & Arpels (VCA) is jewelry, watch, and perfume company founded by Alfred Van Cleef and his uncle Salomon Arpels in 1896.
Perhaps best known for a focus on technical virtuosity, craftsmanship and artistry, evident since its beginning. Rather than jewelry whose primary aim was the display of wealth and opulence, Van Cleef & Arpels sought to produce pieces that projected the wearer’s taste and style — winning the house a roster of dedicated, fashion-conscious clients that included the Duchess of Windsor, Marlene Dietrich, Barbara Hutton, Jacqueline Onassis and Elizabeth Taylor.
The company was formed a year after the 1895 marriage of Alfred Van Cleef, the son of a gem cutter, to Estelle Arpels, daughter of precious-stones dealer Salomon Arpel. Ten years later, Van Cleef & Arpels opened its first boutique on the Place Vendôme in Paris, setting the march on a square now crowded with dealers in bijouterie. (The company still occupies the New York flagship store opened in 1939 at Fifth Avenue and 57th Street.) Born from a union of expertise in both jewelry making and gem selection, the firm distinguished itself with both the consistency of the color and clarity of its stones and the creativity of its designs. In 1933, Van Cleef & Arpels patented its trademark Mystery Setting — a technique by which gems are fitted into an intricate matrix of slots and “drawers” that keep the setting hidden. Another signal innovation was the Zip necklace, introduced in 1951, which can be worn either around the neck or, with the zipper closed, as a bracelet.
But as much as to the firm’s craftsmanship, clients have been drawn by the insouciance and playfulness of Van Cleef & Arpels designers, as well as their attunement to the cultural climate. After the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922, the company produced several lavish pieces featuring hieroglyphics and other Egyptian motifs to go along with the geometric Art Deco jewelry of that decade and the next. Following World War II, as symbols of freedom and rebirth, the firm focused on naturalistic forms such as birds, flowers, fruit and flying insects. High society’s 1960s fascination with the Near East and India prompted such pieces as the best-selling Alhambra necklace, popularized by Princess Grace. Lately, attention among collectors and connoisseurs has centered on Van Cleef & Arpels’s quality of workmanship as much as its glamour. The firm was the subject of a 2012 show at the Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, as well as exhibitions at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California, in 2013 and at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 2014.
