Brand Story Van Cleef and Arpels

Beginnings are the most essential part of any good, riveting story. A good beginning is what makes the audience stay back and stay interested. Every company or brand that exists and is loved today is where it is because of how it started. It is the beginning that provides a premise which makes a brand represent more than what it is today.

Just like many other luxury fashion brands, the story of Van Cleef & Arpels begins in France. And being France, it began as a love story when the daughter of a precious stone dealer got married to a stone cutter. An unusual pair of protagonists, Alfred Van Cleef set out on a journey with his father-in-law, Saloman Arpels towards the end of the 19th century, a journey based on the mutual love for jewellery making and family. However, Saloman did not live long enough to watch his company blossom, instead after his demise in 1906, his two sons-Charles and Julien, took his place. They opened their very first boutique store soon after this, across the Hotel Ritz. It wasn’t long before they were opening their boutiques in holiday resorts in Nice and Monte-Carlo, to name a couple. Van Cleef & Arpels became the face of renowned craftsmanship and using rare gems and dressing the elite.

Van Cleef & Arpel’s first big recognition came in 1925, when they won the grand prize at the International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts for their bracelet with rubies and diamond fashioned as red and white flowers. In 1926, Alfred’s daughter Renée became the artistic director and soon they became the first French jeweller to expand their location to China and Japan in the next 20 years.

Their products have been adorned by some of the greatest. Style icons such as Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Eva Perón, and even the Duchess of Windsor have found themselves attracted to their work. In 1966, Van Cleef & Arpels was tasked with making the crown for Empress Farah Pahlavi’s coronation. The work that went into making this crown proved that Van Cleef was more than just a brand, they are equipped with providing something unique and different to their clients. For this crown specifically, a team was employed to Iran to choose the gems that would be used for the crown and 11 months of work was put in before the company presented the empress with a crown made of emerald velvet set with 36 emeralds, 36 rubies, 105 pearls and 1,469 diamonds.

Today, they have expanded to having a store in almost every continent. From the United States to the very recently opened boutique in Australia, they’ve covered both the hemispheres. As of 2011, the company had an estimated sales of €450 million.

Van Cleef & Arpels became known for ‘the mystery setting’ which they got patented in 1933. This is a gem setting technique where the prongs are invisible. In this each stone is faceted onto gold rails with a thickness less than two-tenths of a millimetre and requires nearly 300 hours of work per piece. Because of this, only a few of products using this technique are produced each year. In 2019, a 1936 Van Cleef & Arpels custom jewellery piece with a "Mystery Setting" was sold for $326,500 during an auction at Christie’s New York.

The “Camellia” design, is one of the most romantic forms created by the house. This flower recreation showcased alternating rows of circular cut diamonds and sapphires. In 1954, they debuted a fun “La Boutique” animal clip collection which was a playful range of cartoon-like animals in various precious stones and gems.

Van Cleef & Arpels was always known for providing the best of both worlds-a range of elegance for the sophisticated and designs that attract the wild and trendsetters. Till today their iconic designs remain timeless and will continue to have a high place as a luxury maison.