Sketches of four-leaf clovers litter the archives of French luxury jewelry house Van Cleef & Arpels (est. 1896), some of which date back to the early 1900s, and the brand’s beloved Vintage Alhambra earrings celebrate the quatrefoil-shaped multicultural motif that has long characterized the maison’s most popular collection.

“To be lucky, you must believe in luck,” Jacques Arpels (1914–2008), nephew of Van Cleef & Arpels cofounder Estelle Arpels, liked to say. Jacques sought four-leaf clovers in the yard of his childhood home, and owing to his affinity for nature as well as good fortune, it was he who would ultimately launch the Alhambra line, which celebrates a shape that is based on the clover as well as the ancient quatrefoils of Moorish architecture. Van Cleef CEO Nicolas Bos concedes that luck may have played a role in the motif's impressive universal success — devotees of Alhambra over the years have included Princess Grace of Monaco, acclaimed actress Romy Schneider and Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge.

The inaugural design of the Alhambra collection — a yellow-gold opera-length necklace interspersed with 20 gold four-leaf clovers with beaded edges — debuted in 1968. These beaded edges, along with the integration of colorful stones such as malachite, coral and turquoise, define the house’s Vintage Alhambra line. (The Sweet Alhambra pendant and Magic Alhambra necklace are part of the collection’s other iterations.) While adding new styles and precious and semiprecious stones over the years, Van Cleef & Arpels has produced the Alhambra line continuously since its early days. Vintage Alhambra earrings, which embody the casual ease of the original and see the house’s lauded emblem highlighted in a beaded border, continue to be a playful and elegant symbol of good fortune.