The four-leaf clover is a long-celebrated talisman, but it was the French jewellery maison Van Cleef & Arpels that cemented it as a universal symbol for good luck and great fortune when they brought it to life in gold and precious gemstones in the late 1960s.
The actual ‘ Van Cleef & Arpels Alhambra’ collection is now internationally realised; its signature sautoirs (long necklaces) are often spotted around the necks of tastemakers as well as trend setters, royalty and also Hollywood’s finest alike. These long, low-swinging styles are just as easily paired with evening gowns as they are with jeans and a Tee shirt, jersey, which is possibly the secret to their enduring charm - the Alhambra has become synonymous with precious, laidback luxury. Vehicle Cleef and Arpels Alhambra has historically celebrated luck, joy along with optimism since it was founded in 1906, long renowned for its animated interpretations of flowers and animals. It was within 1968, however , that the four-leaf clover became a lucky icon for the house. Jacques Arpels, a nephew of a single of the beginning families, was especially enamoured with the concept of luck - he famously bestowed four-leaf clovers gathered in his garden upon his staff. His personal mantra, “To be fortunate, you have to believe in luck, ” inspired the actual maison to produce a collection that saw four-leaf clovers sided with golden pearls, set upon chic sautoirs. It was conceived to introduce a new era associated with more accessible jewellery designs within the maison’s collection and became an instant success.
The name of the collection hails from the Alhambra palace, inside Granada, Spain, where Moorish quatrefoil motifs (four overlapping circles, similar to the clover silhouette) adorn magnificent architecture along with similarly detailed, intricate artisanry. Van Cleef & Arpels is one regarding history’s most celebrated jewellers, founded in the high jewellery-making epicentre worldwide, Place Vendome, Paris. The particular combined skills of lapidaries, jewellers, stone-setters and polishers come together to create each clover motif, requiring no fewer than 15 successive steps of expertise. What makes the particular Alhambra collection so iconic is that it distils the grande joaillerie expertise of the adresse into a regular, wearable design that can be paired with a simple sweater.
Its enduring prestige is probably also bolstered by the evolution of sub-collections that enjoy colour, form and different dimensions; from the ‘Lucky Alhambra’ designs, which incorporate heart, kittens, leaf in addition to star occasion, to the ‘Byzantine Alhambra’ styles, which celebrate the clover silhouette throughout solid plus openwork precious metal. Since 1968, the Truck Cleef and also Arpels Alhambra collection has become incredible with the passing eras, while remaining an elegant icon involving luck. Today - for the first time - it welcomes four secret ring watch models. They commemorate the poetry of a time that remains hidden, revealing itself when so desired on the chain of a lengthy necklace. Alongside these unique pieces, two Sweet Alhambra watches are adorned together with ornamental stones, complemented by the gleam connected with delicately handmade yellow gold. Four new creations are joining the Lorrie Cleef as well as Arpels Alhambra collection -- which initially welcomes the thought of a personal time, concealed at the heart of the emblematic, four-leafed clover-inspired explications. Following in the footsteps of the cycle watches which appeared with Europe within the 17th century, these jewelry that tell the time take the form of valuable pendants, accompanying their wearer’s silhouette. They combine typically the Maison’s characteristically elegant jewelry style with its secret watch tradition. The time is revealed at will: a simple action pivots the stone-set motif in order to unveil often the dial. In 1968, Suv Cleef along with Arpels view created the first Alhambra very long necklace, inspired by the four-leaf clover shape. Like a good token with luck, it was made up of 20 motifs around textured gold, delicately fringed with fantastic beads. Typically the symbol had been an immediate success, establishing itself throughout the world as an icon for luck and even emblem about Van Cleef & Arpels.