Solitaires and wedding bands Van Cleef & Arpels

A Maison born from a love story Once upon a time, a real-life fairy tale was born out of love and precious stones. It began in 1895, with the Paris wedding of Estelle Arpels, daughter of a gemstone dealer, and Alfred Van Cleef, son of a lapidary. In 1906, the Maison was founded at 22, Place Vendôme, uniting these two names in a single jeweled destiny. Since then, the ampersand “&” has formed an unshakeable bond, symbolizing both this union of individuals and skills and the blend of excellence and poetry that distinguishes Van Cleef & Arpels’ creations. The celebration of emotions continues today through the Maison’s creations. From wedding bands to engagement rings to jewelry sets, each piece reflects the enchanting universe of Van Cleef & Arpels, its consummate savoir-faire, and the standards of excellence that guide the selection of stones.

Since 1906 the Maison has exalted the expression of feelings.

Love as a source of inspiration

Van Cleef & Arpels has been the faithful companion of love stories since its foundation. A true symbol of destiny, the first piece mentioned in the 1906 sales records was a heart set with diamonds. Many creations would later illuminate the most famous romances, from the Duke and Duchess of Windsor to Grace Kelly’s wedding with H.S.H. Prince Rainier of Monaco. Today, the celebration of feelings continues to imbue the Maison’s collections with poetry and enchantment. From High Jewelry to Watches to Jewelry, they express all the nuances of love and the emotion of shared moments.

This theme injects its rhythm into Van Cleef & Arpels’ Poetry of Time, offering a vision of watchmaking steeped in dreams and emotion. One of the most iconic examples is the Pont des Amoureux collection, introduced in 2010, which celebrates feelings ranging from the sweetness of first love to the thrill of long-awaited reunions.

A passion for exceptional stones

Diamonds have always fascinated thanks to their exceptional properties, such as strength, purity, and ability to reflect light. Their vibrant, captivating brilliance has never ceased to amaze Van Cleef & Arpels. Since the Maison’s founding in 1906, it has stood out for its rigorous stone selection, infusing its creations with a remarkable intensity. All diamonds featured in the collections are subject to a double verification process. They meet the internationally recognized “4 Cs” criteria, which determine their quality based on color, clarity, cut, and carat weight. In keeping with the Maison’s tradition of excellence, only the highest grades are chosen: D to F for color and IF to VVS for clarity. Along with this first step, which allows for an objective evaluation, comes an in-depth inspection by the Van Cleef & Arpels experts. The Stone Department examines the gems with the characteristic high standards and taste of the Maison. The quality of paved-set diamonds is systematically checked with a 10x magnifying glass as part of a rigorous internal process, while each center stone is carefully examined to assess its beauty, the vitality that enlivens it, and the elegance of its cut. Many unique characteristics distinguish one gem from another.

Vibrant, intense, and fascinating, the brilliance of white diamonds has never ceased to amaze.

Through the years, Van Cleef & Arpels has cultivated a unique taste and expertise for colored gemstones. The gemmologists carefully select them according to stringent criteria, passed on from expert to expert within the Maison. For rubies, sapphires and emeralds, Van Cleef & Arpels looks for excellence, but also for the emotion elicited by their nuances and vivacity. The Maison pays attention to the color of each gem, which immediately catches the eye, the inherent beauty of their material, their weight, their cut, and the elegance of their shape. What follows is a unique encounter, an alchemist’s secret that awakens the senses. For its creations, the Maison singles out sapphires displaying a pronounced and uniform shade of blue. Rubies captivate with their flamboyant color: among the different hues, which range from pink to deep purple, Van Cleef & Arpels seeks out gemstones with a bright and intense red. Selected according to the highest ethical and quality standards, they infuse solitaires with a unique flame. The emerald enchants with its deep green. It often features “jardin”, inclusions that give the stone a magnetic depth. When selecting its emeralds, Van Cleef & Arpels pays particular attention to the intensity of the color and the radiance of the stone.

The secret world of the workshops

Each creation benefits from Van Cleef & Arpels’ High Jewelry savoir-faire, which has been carried on by the workshops’ craftsmen for over a hundred years. This expertise is expressed through a series of patiently completed techniques. With every step, gold and platinum reveal their brilliance, while precious stones are skillfully highlighted. From jewelers to stone-setters to polishers, the various skills come together to give each ring the emotion of a rare piece.

The precious metal is carefully pierced, allowing light to circulate and intensify the stones brilliance.

Enchanting creations

All the poetry of Van Cleef & Arpels’ universe is reflected in the wedding band and solitaire collections. From nature to couture, dance to the language of love, the Maison’s greatest sources of inspiration infuse elegance and grace into each piece. The Icône and Couture solitaires tenderly embrace the center stone, while the Perlée and Estelle rings are accented by a border of golden or platinum beads. The Bonheur and Romance creations highlight the diamond with a timeless aesthetic. Finally, the Boucle and Jasmin solitaires echo an exceptional moment with the caress of a bow or a precious petal.

Unique solitaires

Van Cleef & Arpels accompanies precious moments with a range of unique solitaires. Individually selected by the Maison’s expert gemologists, each diamond, sapphire, ruby, and emerald adorns a distinctive gold or platinum setting. The Maison offers a variety of styles, such as Boucle, Menuet or Jasmin, to celebrate the special moments in life. The Maison chooses an exceptional gem to mount on each setting, thus resulting in unique creations.

Unique solitaires

Tête-à-Tête solitaire

Platinum, one oval-cut ruby of 2.09 carats, round diamonds

Aladdin solitaire

Platinum, one emerald-cut diamond of 3.09 carats, round diamonds

Boucle solitaire

Platinum, one cushion-cut emerald of 2.16 carats, round diamonds

Entrelacs solitaire

Platinum, one cushion-cut sapphire of 4.1 carats, round diamonds

Menuet solitaire

Platinum, one emerald-cut diamond of 3.41 carats, baguette-cut diamonds

Jasmin solitaire

Platinum, one oval-cut sapphire of 3.96 carats, round and marquise-cut diamonds

Éventails solitaire

Platinum, one emerald-cut emerald of 3.32 carats, round diamonds

Motifs Pétales solitaire

Platinum, one pear-shaped emerald of 1.43 carats, pear-shaped diamonds

Motifs Triangles solitaire

Platinum, one cushion-cut ruby of 2.39 carats, triangle-cut diamonds

Sonate solitaire

Platinum, one round diamond of 2.61 carats, fancy-cut diamonds

The color, cut, and weight of each ring’s stone is as unique as the bonds of love it symbolizes.

Engagement rings

Playing on the brilliance of platinum and white gold, or the warmth of rose gold, the timeless aesthetics of engagement rings highlight the fire of the diamonds. All are set with a round diamond from 0.30 carat, selected with care according to Van Cleef & Arpels’ criteria.

Engagement rings

Bonheur solitaire

Romance solitaire

Icône solitaire

Couture solitaire

Perlée solitaires

Estelle solitaire

Van Cleef & Arpels also offers a personalized service to create a ring celebrating a unique event. Diamonds from 0.30 to 3 carats are selected according to the highest quality criteria: IF to VVS2, D or E. Thanks to the stone-setter’s savoir-faire, the chosen gem will then be revealed in all its brilliance on a choice of the Maison’s settings: Romance, Bonheur, Couture, Estelle or Perlée.

Wedding bands

Representing the love that unites two souls, wedding bands are illuminated by the brilliance of gold or the sparkle of diamonds. The creations can be worn alone, together with an engagement ring, or even with a second matching ring to immortalize the commitment made to your loved one. The Maison has designed its creations to harmonize with elegance and comfort, with many combinations available to the future couple. The sets can be put together to suit every desire and personality: classic and timeless, or modern and daring. One can customize the width of the ring, combine the purity of gold with the brilliance of diamonds, or intermingle golden beads: the possibilities are countless.

Van Cleef & Arpels’ diamond jewelry

Fascinated by the beauty of diamonds, the Maison highlights their purity with dazzling jewelry creations. Worn on either side of the face, on the neck, or on the wrist, the Maison’s creations are characterized by a timeless elegance that complements that of engagement rings. Among these pieces, the Fleurette motif carries on the Van Cleef & Arpels heritage, the Snowflake creations evoke the beauty of snowy landscapes, and the Flowerlace Collection reinterprets the floral motif with sparkling ribbons. Each collection adorns the silhouette with refinement. The jewelry creations lend themselves to the celebration of unique moments.

Round diamonds combine to create dazzling motifs that seem to gently brush the skin.

The Snowflake collection sparkles with light and is inspired by the snowflakes that the Maison has been representing since the 1940s.

Snowflake necklace with detachable pendant Platinum, white gold, diamonds

Flowerlace pendant Platinum, white gold, diamond.