What’s love got to do with Van Cleef & Arpels?

The language of love has been spoken oh-so eloquently at the jewellery house for aeons—precisely since it came into being in 1906. It was the year when Estelle Arpels, the daughter of a dealer in precious stones, and Alfred Van Cleef, the son of a lapidary and diamond broker, who married a little over a decade prior, opened their very first boutique at 22 Place Vendôme in Paris which remains the home of the maison to this day.

Along with Estelle’s brothers Charles, Julien and Louis, the couple took the French high jewellery scene by storm and started raking up accolades for the brand’s exceptional craftsmanship as well as design ingenuity which include the top recognition at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes. Its status continued to rise along with its portfolio of high-profile clientele that ranged from European aristocracy to Indian maharajas.

Van Cleef & Arpels then entered a new era of elegance and influence with the passing of the torch to Renée Puissant, the couple’s visionary daughter, who took the helm as creative director in 1926. Estelle’s nephews too stepped up to the plate shortly after with Jacques taking over the management of the maison in Paris, Pierre overseeing jewellery design and Claude setting out for world domination as he spearheaded the opening of the brand’s New York boutique.

Under the new guard, the company delivered one groundbreaking creation after another with the Zip necklace, a transformable piece inspired by the zip fastener, being one of them. This constant pursuit of technical newness, combined with a distinctive aesthetic that draws from a place of understated elegance, refinement and poetry proved to be a winning combo that has earned Van Cleef & Arpels its spot on the map which still resonates more than a century later.