Fragrance house

Van Cleef

Founded in Paris in 1906 at 22 Place Vendôme by Alfred Van Cleef and his brother-in-law Charles Arpels, Van Cleef & Arpels has an identity built around high jewellery and watchmaking. Its creative language draws on nature, couture and imaginary worlds, expressed through gemstone expertise and craftsmanship; in the 1920s it developed Art Deco-inspired geometric forms, while the 1930s brought a distinctive style shaped by Renée Puissant and René Sim-Lacaze. In 1968, the maison created its first Alhambra long necklace, whose four-leaf-clover design achieved immediate success, became emblematic and has since been repeatedly reinvented. During the 2000s, its themed High Jewelry collections included Frivole, alongside the Complications Poétiques watch collection. With the maison’s support, the École des Arts Joailliers was created in 2012 to share jewelry history, savoir-faire and gemstone knowledge through public courses, conferences and exhibitions. In perfumery, First marked its debut in 1976, composed by Jean-Claude Ellena. It is described as a fragrance landmark and the house’s enduring reference, while Collection Extraordinaire, created in 2009, took a direction focused on nature and materials.