Van Cleef & Arpels

Groundbreaking techniques and whimsical motifs.

In the late 1800s, Estelle Arpels, daughter of a precious stones dealer, married Alfred Van Cleef, son of a stonecutter. The groom and his father-in-law opened Van Cleef & Arpels in 1896. By the 1920s, the house was at the vanguard of design, embracing the fervor for Art Deco renditions of Far East and Egyptian motifs, as well as sautoirs and the wide diamond bracelets of the era. The following decades saw many innovations, from the Mystery Setting in 1933 and the first Minaudière in 1934, to the still-iconic zipper necklace introduced in 1950. In 1954, Van Cleef & Arpels introduced playful animal clips beloved by Grace Kelly and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The company’s famous four-leaf clover Alhambra design debuted in 1968 and became a favorite of Princess Grace of Monaco.