Van Cleef & Arpels is a testimony of excellent craftsmanship, innovation and timeless pieces like the Alhambra collection. With its distinctive four-leaf clover motif, first designed in 1968, the collection has achieved an iconic status and was worn by icons such as Audrey Hepburn and Princess Grace of Monaco. More recently many celebrities have been wearing it and showing it on social media like Gwyneth Paltrow and Reese Witherspoon. It is also a great investment piece that exudes prestige and admiration.
If you always dreamt of having your own, we invite you to look at our selection and find the piece waiting for you, so you too, can have a piece of history.
But what is the story of Van Cleef & Arpels?
Once upon a time, a Dutch diamond cutter named Alfred Van Cleef and his father-in-law, Salomon Arpels, founded a French luxury jewelry company. It was 1896 in Paris when elegance, innovation, and cultural richness met and created what French people like to call today “La Belle Epoque.” This was an era of timeless elegance, where iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower were constructed, and the city was known for its grand cafes, cabarets, and the rise of the modern entertainment industry, including the famous Moulin Rouge.
After his father-in-law’s death in 1906, Alfred was joined by two of his brothers-in-law, Charles and Julien, and acquired a new space in front of the Ritz on the renowned Place Vendome. Today, it is still their first and oldest boutique.
Success came quickly, and boutiques opened in the most luxurious cities of France, like Nice and Deauville and later Monte-Carlo. Their jewelry was wanted worldwide, making them the first French jewellers to open boutiques in Japan and China. They even worked with foreign royalty; in 1966, Empress Farah Pahlavi asked Van cleef & Arpels to make her a crown. It was made with an emerald velvet set with 36 emeralds, 36 rubies, 105 pearls, and 1,469 diamonds!
Van Cleef & Arpels was always ahead of its time and leading the movement, today several brands and jewellers are taking inspiration from the famous four-leaf clover motif>
