The family jeweller behind the four-leaf clover, an invisible setting and a necklace that zips.
By Shreya S · Last reviewed 15 November 2026
Who founded Van Cleef & Arpels?
Alfred Van Cleef and his wife Estelle Arpels, the son of a stone cutter and the daughter of a gem dealer, opened at 22 Place Vendôme in 1906 with Estelle’s brothers. Their daughter Renée Puissant became artistic director in 1926 and shaped the house’s poetic style of flowers, fairies and ballerinas.
What is the Mystery Set?
A technique the house patented in 1933 in which rubies or sapphires are slid onto fine gold rails so that no metal prongs show from the front. The stones seem to float in a smooth carpet of colour. A single piece can take hundreds of hours, and very few are made each year.
And the Zip necklace?
An idea credited to the Duchess of Windsor in the 1930s: a necklace inspired by the zip fastener that opens and closes and can be worn as a bracelet. It took the workshop until around 1950 to make it work. It is still produced as a high jewellery piece.
Why is the Alhambra everywhere?
The four-leaf clover motif, framed in gold beading, launched in 1968 as a lucky charm. In mother-of-pearl, onyx, malachite or carnelian, it became one of the most recognisable pieces of fine jewellery in the world, and a prime target for copies. Van Cleef & Arpels has been part of Richemont since 1999, and it is now one of the group’s biggest growth engines.
Read on Ayerhs: Richemont’s First-Half Sales Rise as Jewellery Leads · 24 Fine Jewellery Gifts