The Van Cleef & Arpels clover charm necklace is representative of luck, a symbol the maison holds dear. As Jacques Arpels said, “To be lucky, you have to believe in luck.” The classic charm design found inspiration in the beautiful architecture of the Moorish Alhambra Palace, now a World Heritage Site. The scalloped archways ubiquitous in Islamic architecture inspired the scalloped edges of the charm motif, which resembles the arches of the palace.
If you are a luxury jewelry fanatic, then you probably recognize the iconic Alhambra motif from Van Cleef & Arpels Jewelry. However, you might not know all that’s gone into the production of the icon from its start to its present.
Inspiration and design are only the beginning. The Van Cleef & Arpels Alhambra collection was introduced in the ’60s, gaining its immense popularity in the early 2000s. Now, to adhere to the high quality of the Van Cleef & Arpels brand, the jewelers follow a rigorous process to ensure the end result is nothing short of perfection and elegance.
The process begins with the selection of the material featured in the setting. Van Cleef & Arpels uses natural materials, including turquoise, diamond, onyx, carnelian, malachite and mother-of-pearl. The selection of the material is no easy decision — there are 15 steps that must be followed before the selection is finalized!
After the material is selected, it is shaped and polished to the classic clover shape. Each link of the gold chain is inspected thoroughly by the jeweler to ensure the links are perfect and secure. Then, the gold frame is hand polished, finished by hand, and polished again. Next, the frame and chain are assembled by hand. Finally the jeweler is ready to carefully set the motif in the frame, once again, by hand. After the piece receives its final polish, the jeweler inspects the finished product once again to confirm perfection.
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