Van Cleef & Arpels VCA 18 Karat Vintage Alhambra Black Onyx Earrings

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.

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.