Van Cleef Perfume Bottle

One of the world’s foremost jewelry houses, Van Cleef & Arpels is particularly noted for a focus on technical virtuosity, craftsmanship and artistry, evident since its beginning. Rather than create earrings, bracelets, necklaces and other adornments primarily for the aim of displaying of wealth and opulence, Van Cleef & Arpels sought to produce jewelry that projected the wearer’s taste and style.

The company was formed a year after the 1895 marriage of Alfred Van Cleef, the son of a gem cutter, to Estelle Arpels, daughter of precious-stones dealer Salomon Arpels. Ten years later, Van Cleef & Arpels opened its first boutique on the Place Vendôme in Paris, setting the march on a square now crowded with dealers in bijouterie. (The company still occupies the New York flagship store opened in 1939 at Fifth Avenue and 57th Street.)

Born from a union of expertise in both jewelry making and gem selection, Van Cleef & Arpels distinguished itself with both the consistency of the color and clarity of its stones and the creativity of its designs. In doing so, the house would win a roster of dedicated, fashion-conscious clients that included the Duchess of Windsor, Marlene Dietrich, Barbara Hutton, Jacqueline Onassis and Elizabeth Taylor. In 1933, Van Cleef & Arpels patented its trademark Mystery Setting — a technique by which gems are fitted into an intricate matrix of slots and “drawers” that keep the setting hidden. Another signal innovation was the Zip necklace, introduced in 1951, which can be worn either around the neck or, with the zipper closed, as a bracelet.

But as much as to the firm’s craftsmanship, clients have been drawn by the insouciance and playfulness of Van Cleef & Arpels designers, as well as their attunement to the cultural climate. After the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922, the company produced several lavish pieces featuring hieroglyphics and other Egyptian motifs to go along with the geometric Art Deco jewelry of that decade and the next. Following World War II, as symbols of freedom and rebirth, the firm focused on naturalistic forms such as birds, flowers, fruit and flying insects. High society’s 1960s fascination with the Near East and India prompted such pieces as the best-selling Alhambra necklace, popularized by Princess Grace.

Lately, attention among collectors and connoisseurs has centered on Van Cleef & Arpels’s quality of workmanship as much as its glamour. The firm was the subject of a 2012 show at the Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, as well as exhibitions at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California, in 2013 and at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 2014.

Find an exquisite collection of Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry on 1stDibs.

Over time, many different styles of vintage, new and antique bottles have found second lives as coveted decorative objects in pristine display cases all over the world. Originally, these bottles may have been decanters and flasks for spirits and liqueurs, medicine and perfume bottles or functional vases for fresh floral arrangements.

We know that glass can be a radical art form. So your vintage art glass or Art Deco pieces will stand on their own to be admired by all alongside your other treasured collectibles in your living room or dining room. But maybe you’re thinking about decorating elsewhere in your home with the other types of glass bottles that you’ve picked up over the years.

There are many corners of your space that can be brightened by an arrangement of bottles of various sizes, shapes and colors. Spruce up your kitchen, bedroom, craft room or art studio by lining the window sill with an array of glass bottles. In this case, you’ll want to use glass bottles instead of ceramic or metal, as transparent material in the sunlight — particularly colored bottles — will introduce energy and pops of color to adjacent walls and surfaces.

Grouping short, tall, thin and wide bottles — some with flowers, some without — on a tabletop, buffet or desk in your home office can bring a much-needed dynamic as a centerpiece or merely dress up a workspace.

On 1stDibs, find a collection of vintage, new and antique glass bottles that includes mid-century modern bottles, Murano glass and more.