The maison
Van Cleef & Arpels
Place Vendôme, 1906. Mystery settings, transformable jewels and early Alhambra.
The maison
About Van Cleef & Arpels
Alfred Van Cleef and Estelle Arpels married in 1895, and in 1906 they opened at 22 Place Vendôme with her brothers. Their daughter Renée Puissant led design from 1926, with René Sim Lacaze. The family opened in New York in 1939, and the American-made pieces of the war years are a chapter of their own.
Signatures to know
The Mystery Set, patented in 1933: rubies or sapphires with no visible metal. The Minaudière (1933) and the Passe-Partout (1938), the first of the transformable jewels. Ballerina and fairy clips from the New York years. The Zip necklace, an idea of the Duchess of Windsor realized in 1951. The Alhambra from 1968, and the bold gold of the 1970s.
Read in the Journal: Van Cleef & Arpels: elegance and timeless design