VAN CLEEF & ARPELS
If each piece of jewellery tells a story, Van Cleef & Arpels’ creations would speak of love. After all, it was love that brought the Maison into being. When Alfred Van Cleef and Estelle Arpels — both coming from a family involved in precious stones business — married in 1895, they knew they were bound to create something beautiful and lasting together.
The Maison’s love for beauty and elegance has given birth to some of the world’s most unique and iconic creations — from the awe-inspiring coronation set of Empress Farah Pahlavi in 1967 to the dazzling Walska yellow diamond brooch that transforms into a pair of earrings, a pendant, and a much smaller brooch.
Van Cleef & Arpels has always remained faithful to inventiveness and poetry, and among its highly revered collections are transformable jewellery — intricate masterpieces that can be magically re-assembled to adapt to different occasions.
The Zip necklace, a daring design idea credited to the then-duchess of Windsor, Wallis Simpson, is a masterpiece of ingenuity. Patented in 1938 and finally realised in 1950, the Zip necklace works exactly like a zipper: the closure slides up and down, allowing the necklace to be left partially open or even closed entirely to form a bracelet. The Snowflake necklace, on the other hand, has discreet fastenings that allow its various elements to be taken apart and worn up to nine different ways to suit any mood.
More than a century since its founding in 1906, the brand has continuously pushed the boundaries of creativity, luxury, and refinement.
For more information, visit www.vancleefandarpels.com.