How it started, and where the enduring journey might take us.
Until I find a four-leaf clover in the wild, the Van Cleef Arpels’ Alhambra collection is one of my favoured talismans for luck. 1968 is often cited as the year the icon was unveiled, but the four-leaf clover motif actually appears in the Maison’s archives as early as 1906.
Regardless, it was in 1968 that the Alhambra took its emblematic form: a symmetrical four-leaf motif framed by a delicate border of golden beads. Its first incarnation, the long necklace, featured twenty clovers in creased yellow gold. Over the last half-century and some, the Alhambra sautoir has graced the necks of celebrated style icons, from Françoise Hardy and Elizabeth Taylor to H.S.H Princess Grace of Monaco (famously pictured artfully layering three sautoirs) and British royals like Queen Camilla and Princess Kate Middleton.
“To be lucky, you have to believe in luck,” Jacques Arpels famously said. The nephew of Estelle Arpels was known to scour the garden of his Germigny-l’Évêque home for the rare four-leaf clover, presenting his finds to his staff alongside a copy of the poem Don’t Quit.
With a one-in-5,076 chance of finding a four-leafed variant among three-leaf clovers, Jacques Arpels was certainly one lucky man. Yet the Maison’s enduring legacy, represented by icons like the Alhambra, Luck Spring, and Lucky Animals, is built on more than good fortune. It is a testament to artistic vision, a ceaseless dedication to craftsmanship, and a profound respect for nature’s beauty.
To be lucky, you have to believe in luck.
Jacques Arpels
Indeed, each Alhambra piece is a miniature masterpiece, a culmination of the unparalleled skills of the Maison’s lapidaries, jewellers, stone-setters and polishers.
Undoubtedly a VCA signature, the Alhambra collection has since expanded to include numerous materials, colours and forms, reflecting the sartorial spirit of every era, while remaining true to its tactile, talismanic quality. Whether rendered in delicate rose gold, elegant mother-of-pearl, or stately malachite, stacked on a finger or wrapping a wrist, the Alhambra has been for every wearer: “sensitive jewels, tender jewels, meaningful jewels”.
And for me, these have been the most faithful jewels.
Today, vintage VCA Alhambra can fetch a fortune at auction, but it’s hard to imagine anyone willingly parting with such personal talismans.
The allure of the Alhambra family only grows stronger with November’s new collections, whose transformable pieces can be worn in various ways: The long Magic Alhambra necklace can be detached to form a shorter necklace and bracelet, credit to “secret” blade clasps that fit discreetly into the clover motif.
The two propositions, featuring grey and white mother of pearl combined with guilloche rose gold; and chalcedony and white mother-of-pearl with guilloche white gold, can also be paired with matching Vintage Alhambra reversible rings to suit different moods.
And because one could never get enough of these charming clovers, lucky collectors will be pleased to know that the captivating chalcedony-white guilloche ensemble includes a Sweet Alhambra watch illuminated by diamond-set motifs.
Luck, by any name, transcends cultures. The Van Cleef Arpels Alhambra transcends time.
Images courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels, artwork by Curatedition. All rights reserved.
Related links:
Van Cleef & Arpels: Treasures, Uncovered
Van Cleef & Arpels: Into the Blue
Van Cleef & Arpels: Circle of Light
Van Cleef & Arpels: The Line of Beauty
