Van Cleef Tendrement

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 Arpel. 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.

Find memorable jewelry to mark your special day — a collection of antique and vintage wedding rings is waiting for you on 1stDibs.

Wedding rings have symbolized love and devotion for centuries. The pharaohs of Ancient Egypt believed that wedding rings were symbols of eternity. The “ouroboros” rings of the era, which depicted a serpent swallowing its own tail, represented renewal and eternal life — a motif at the center of the Serpenti collection from Italian fine jewelry house Bulgari. Preferred materials in the production of wedding bands have changed over time; metals such as iron in early Rome replaced the wedding rings of bone and ivory that came before them. But the circle has always symbolized an unending pledge of love to one’s partner.

In the case of Cartier’s Trinity wedding ring, the “trinity knot” depicts unity and eternity. The legendary French brand’s minimalist Love wedding band is inseparable from immutable love, in that it joined the iconic Love bracelet, which initially could only be unlocked with its accompanying gold-vermeil screwdriver. Wedding rings designed by Tiffany & Co., one of the most prominent purveyors of luxury goods in the United States, have also long been popular for the newly betrothed.

Although wedding bands were traditionally given to women, the practice of men donning wedding rings became popular during the mid-20th century, as devoted husbands wanted to wear a symbol of their love when they shipped off to war. Wedding rings are often worn by both partners today, and men’s engagement rings are becoming more fashionable too (see our engagement ring buying guide).

On 1stDibs, shop diamond eternity bands, gold wedding rings, diamond wedding rings and other antique and vintage rings from the world’s best jewelry dealers.