Legendary Stones

From the outset, the story of Van Cleef & Arpels has been punctuated by historic stones and legendary jewels. In 1923, the High Jewelry Maison gave pride of place to the spectacular “Prince Edward of York Diamond” - a pear-shaped diamond from Africa weighing over 60 carats, mounted in a pendant.

In the 1930s, the second generation of the Arpels family made their entrance. Claude, Jacques and Pierre - the sons of Estelle's brother Julien Arpels - carried on this quest for exceptional stones. In 1956, Claude returned from Bombay with the “Neela Ranee”, better known as the Blue Princess. At Florence Jay Gould's request, this oval sapphire of a deep, velvety blue hue became the pendant of a necklace.

Before long, another wonder was competing for the attention of refined collectors. In 1960, Jacques Arpels returned from an auction at Sotheby’s in London with a genuine rarity: a pink diamond weighing 34.64 carats from India's Golconda mines. To celebrate the event, a party was held at the Place Vendôme boutique in the presence of the Maharani of Baroda and her son: the stone was christened “Princie” in his honor.

In 1971, this legendary pink diamond was joined by the Walska Briolette: a yellow diamond of 95 carats, named after its enchanting faceted teardrop cut and its ex-owner, the opera singer Ganna Walska. Van Cleef & Arpels acquired it at an auction at Sotheby’s in New York and set it on the magnificent bird clip, adorned with emeralds and a sapphire. 

In keeping with Van Cleef Arpels’ tradition of transformability, the bird can also metamorphose into a pair of winged earrings and a brooch, while the magnificent yellow diamond can be detached from the brooch and worn alone as a pendant.

The same year, the Maison also presented the extraordinary Thibaw ruby (named after King Thibaw of Burma, to whom it belonged). Purchased by Jacques Arpels, it was recut to a cushion shape weighing 24.82 carats before lending its volume and sparkle to an exceptional ring.

The Blue Heart is a heart-shaped blue diamond weighing 30.82 carats, of incomparable purity and radiance. Its origins are a mystery; it once belonged to an aristocratic French family in the 19th century. It often changed hands during the 20th century. It came up for sale in 1953 and was bought by Van Cleef & Arpels, to be set onto a necklace that was sold the same year to a German baron. It is today a property of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington.

It made a stunning appearance around the neck of singer Zizi Jeanmaire in 1953 on the occasion of a fund raising ball against cancer in the Orangerie at the Chateau de Versailles. It was the pendant of a necklace featuring a triangular 3.81 carat blue diamond surrounded by white diamonds and a pear shaped 2.05 carat pink diamond.