TEFAF 2025: Van Cleef & Arpels: more than the Alhambra

Van Cleef & Arpels is perhaps most known today for its iconic Alhambra. The clover charm almost serves as a logo for the brand itself. But after attending TEFAF Maastricht 2025, it became apparent to me that this is a misconception. Van Cleef & Arpels are more than what influencers have made them famous for. 

The Maison has been around since 1906, initially founded out of love, if you will. Estelle Arpels, daughter of a precious gems dealer, married Alfred van Cleef, son of a lapidary. They created pieces of jewellery, in part fuelled by their passion for the craft and each other. A power couple one might say. The birth story of this maison begs for a reputation that holds more than just a status symbol. It is not just expensive extravagance, it's a sweet romantic story. The longer I investigated the more hooked I became.  

Van Cleef & Arpels, to be found at stand 152 at TEFAF, exhibits various bedazzled, extravagant, over-the-top, and grandiose pieces of jewellery, from earrings to watches, necklaces, rings, and charms. Walking into the exhibition you are immediately confronted with what I learned to be the darling of this year's TEFAF Van Cleef exhibition. It is a necklace with floral diamond garlands on the lower part of the choker that alternate with seven large turquoise cabochons of increasing size, which join in the center of the composition to form a larger turquoise pendant. It is eye-catching, to say the least. This piece is part of the Heritage collection, which represents historic pieces of Van Cleef & Arpels available for purchase. This is distinct from the patrimony collection which consists of archival pieces that are not for sale and can only be viewed. What's more, pieces in this patrimony collection are kept secret from the general public and are only exhibited to a select crowd who require an invitation to see what special shininess Van Cleef owns. 

Additionally, there is the thematic collection. Since the 2000’s Van Cleef & Arpels have been creating collections inspired by a specific theme. These pieces are exhibited each year in different cities all around the world, think Geneva, New York, and London. For sale at TEFAF is a piece from the 2015 thematic collection: Seven Seas. It is the courant marin bracelet consisting of white gold, one cabochon-cut white opal of 33.80 carats, sapphires, lapis, and diamonds. But if that doesn't ring any bells, see the picture below. 

Attendees of the thematic collection showcases are also to be invited. Thus, reinforcing the idea that these pieces, unlike the more commercialised collections including the well-known Alhambra charms, are not only in a league of their own but in a room of their own. These collector’s items in the Heritage and thematic collections are not accessible for purchase but for reasons that go further than the obvious price tag. At TEFAF, you can buy an entrance ticket for the purposes of looking around. But usually, these pieces are not exhibited in such places. As strange as it sounds, TEFAF is in this way one of the most accessible prestigious fine art fairs, in the sense that you can actually view what's on display.

What makes these extravagant pieces so extremely expensive is of course the diamonds and gems themselves but also the remarkable skill and time required to create but one piece. The swan pendant necklace above required 630 hours of manual work.

Additionally, Van Cleef & Arpels patented a unique technique termed the Mystery Set™ in 1933. This innovation introduced a new way of setting precious stones, designed to preserve their beauty. I pictured an example below showcasing this patented technique in the 1994 Orsay bracelet made up of Platinum, yellow gold, rubies, and diamonds from the Heritage collection.

Besides this, the specific quality of resources which are required to create pieces like van Cleef’s are hard to come by. Not only does it cost money to purchase raw materials, the real problem seems to rest in the scarcity of the materials in the present day. I spoke with one of the sales advisors present at the Van Cleef exhibition. I am told that It is simply more difficult to come by the minerals seen in the Heritage pieces in part due to the closing of mines that extract these resources. I can't help but let this information feed my suspicion: Van Cleef must be more than the flashy brand that comes to my mind. It’s hours of skilled labour, it’s choosing quality over quantity, it’s patience and passion. Right? If I was still sitting on the fence, what I hear next pushes me over the edge. The lady I speak to at the Van Cleef stand mentions to me the phrase ‘poetic complication.’ -the term used when referring to watches. Van Cleef & Arpels watches exist in a side world to their jewellery. I am told about the ‘Lady Arpels Pont des Amoureux.’ Two lovers represented by a watch. The two lovers stand on the Pont des Amoureux in Paris, and when midnight strikes, they kiss. In other words, at midnight the two hands touch. It's sickly sweet but it's definitely a story. 

Perhaps there are two dimensions to Van Cleef & Arpels. There is the side of the brand that is just that, the brand, the logo, worn to show off status. But under this commercial surface exists a Maison that represents Heritage, secrecy, art, craftsmanship, and romantic stories of love. Pieces of jewelry created in such a unique manner that they are not even to be seen by most people in this world. If you want to see the archival pieces of the patrimony collection you need to be a serious collector. You need to be more than just a sniffler and you need to know to know. Seemingly, this second dimension of the Van Cleef & Arpels Maison is for the sophisticated rich art collectors of the world. Those collectors who refuse the Alhambra and want to see past it, who instead desire to purchase something more expensive than a diamond, crave the story behind the jewellery. Lovers kissing at midnight, a bracelet made of the seven oceans or 630 hours of unique work.  I conclude: a true art collector likes a story, perhaps even needs a story.