Myths & legends

The enchanting world of Van Cleef & Arpels is all the richer for being inhabited by a variety of fantastical and mythological creatures. The history and the heritage of the Maison have been shaped by fairies, mermaids and other mysterious animals.

Dream and imagination are essential components in the three-dimensional creations of Van Cleef & Arpels. The Maison bears the imprint of symbols from a vast array of cultures and breathes new life into ancient legends…

The griffin is a creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. As the lion was considered to be the king of the beasts and the eagle the king of the birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature.

Van Cleef & Arpels brought this legendary creature into the world of jewelry with its own vision, creating the Griffon clip in 1971 set in yellow gold with amethysts, coral, emeralds and diamonds.

In the wake of fairies and ballerinas, Van Cleef & Arpels’ High Jewelry collection L’Atlantide introduces a whole set of new feminine figures. Based on Greek mythology, these Oceanids or water nymphs were the 3000 daughters of the Titan Oceanus and the Titaness Tethys. Half-mermaid, half-marine flower, they are true sculptures of jewels. The Pink Sapphire Océanide twirls majestically on her own axis. Her gown is composed of long aquatic folds set with a gradation of pink sapphires and diamonds. The Sapphire Océanide, with its rose-cut countenance, seems to be dancing in sea-spray wearing a diamond and sapphire bustier.

From the union between Nereus, the sea-god, and Doris, the daughter of Oceanus, were born fifty maidens: the Nereids or sea Nymphs. They proved to be a great aid to sailors navigating through their kingdom. The High Jewelry collection L’Atlantide includes this clip, in which a Nereid appears to be admiring her own reflection in a remarkably beautiful orange-pink oval spinel weighing 7.21 carats. The bust and face of this enigmatic creature are set with diamonds, while the rest of the Nereid is yellow sapphires set in pink gold. Each intricate fin along the crest of her body and arms is tipped with a pear-shaped yellow sapphire.

Pegasus was the winged horse that sprang from the blood of the Gorgon Medusa and was sired by Poseidon. Associated with storms, Pegasus is the guardian of thunder and lighting. Transformed into a constellation by Zeus, Pegasus is nearly always depicted rearing up, symbolizing his semi-divine status. The Maison pays homage to this mythical creature with this clip in the High Jewelry collection Les Jardins. The winged horse rears up on a round, red 27.24-carat rubellite, forming a link between heaven and earth, which is represented by the color red. Like a sculpture, this horse is a three-dimensional creation set with round and baguette-cut diamonds.

Visible in the Northern hemisphere, Cassiopeia is one of the group of constellations linked to the myth of Andromeda. In Greek mythology, Queen Cassiopeia is the wife of Cepheus and the mother of Andromeda. Legend has it that she was chained to her throne by her pride and condemned to circle the North Pole for eternity.

In the High Jewelry collection Les Jardins, the Cassiopée clip depicts a rebellious creature cloaked in sparkling diamond stars that form the constellation of Cassiopeia as we see it in the sky and features an exceptional 5.52-carat oval-cut sapphire with a strong, vivid blue color.

Seen in the Southern hemisphere, the constellation Pavo, whose principle star is called the "Peacock's Eye," is named after the animal that was the sacred symbol of Hera, wife of Zeus, in Greek mythology.

In the High Jewelry collection Les Voyages Extraordinaires™, the Constellation Paon clip depicts a peacock’s tail of rose-cut sapphires with diamond stars that form the constellation of Pavo as we see it in the sky.