Van Cleef & Arpels Drop Necklaces

Van Cleef & Arpels has been at the forefront of innovation and luxury craftsmanship since its founding, especially when it comes to necklaces. Revered for technical excellence and exquisite designs, the maison has long been a favorite of royalty and marquee names in pop culture all over the world.

Van Cleef & Arpels opened its first boutique on Paris's Place Vendôme in 1906. While the French luxury jewelry house’s artisans have created some of the 20th century’s most memorable necklaces, rings and other pieces of jewelry, Van Cleef’s most iconic and enduring line is undoubtedly the Alhambra collection.

With its charming, now-famous quatrefoil motif, which has roots in four-leaf clovers as well as the keyhole arches that populate Moorish architecture, the Alhambra has never gone out of style and has inspired various subcategories and pieces, such as the Magic Alhambra necklace and the unassuming Sweet Alhambra pendant.

Debuting in 1968 — the maison was doing singular work with necklaces and other jewelry back then — the first Alhambra jewel was an all-gold necklace dotted with 20 gold clovers. The motif was later used in rings, pendants and other accessories in a range of styles set with varying gemstones.

In addition to their better-known offerings, Van Cleef & Arpels has created numerous necklaces over the years as part of widely beloved collections including Tubogas, Frivole and others that feature delicate natural-world motifs such as flowers, butterflies and shells. Introduced in 1938, Van Cleef & Arpels’s Passe-Partout necklace was an immediately popular design and represented a new era of adaptable yet luxurious jewelry. This necklace was extraordinarily innovative: It consisted of flower clips attached to a flexible gold snake chain that could be transformed from a necklace into a choker, bracelet or belt. The Zip necklace was another technically brilliant design that was inspired by a common zipper — reportedly owing to a suggestion from the Duchess of Windsor — and studded with various precious and ornamental gemstones.

While Van Cleef & Arpels is known for a broad range of jewelry, its glamorous and captivating necklaces are among the maison’s greatest legacies.

Find unique Van Cleef & Arpels necklaces on 1stDibs today.