Founded at Paris' 22 Place Vendôme in 1906, Van Cleef & Arpels came into being following Estelle Arpels' marriage to Alfred Van Cleef in 1895. Over the decades, the excellence and creativity of the High Jewelry and Watchmaking Maison established its reputation across the world. With a blend of inventiveness and poetry, Van Cleef & Arpels perpetuates a highly distinctive style that has produced numerous signatures: the Mystery Set technique, the Minaudière precious case, the transformable Zip necklace and the Alhambra motif. Its selection of gems that instill an emotion and the savoir-faire of its craftsmen have given birth to enchanting jewelry and watchmaking collections.
Van Cleef & Arpels blends the excellence of its High Jewellery savoir-faire with great delicacy of vision to imbue the most precious materials with lightness and movement. Flowers, arabesques and feminine figures appear to come to life in three dimensions, while asymmetry bestows a subtle dynamism on certain pieces.
Van Cleef & Arpels also encourages the spread of jewellery expertise throughout the world and the preservation of its traditional crafts by collaborating with such leading schools as l'École de Bijouterie Joaillerie de Paris, l'École Boulle and ESSEC's Chaire Savoir-Faire d'Exception. These initiatives express the Maison's ever-increasing involvement with younger generations, in order to foster High Jewellery skills and encourage their future development.