O’REILLYS THE DESIGN SALE 26th - 29th October 2022

4 THE DES IGN SALE | Wednesday 26th – Fr iday 28th of October Van Cleef & Arpels is a French luxury jewellery company. It was founded through an extraordinary marriage between the son of a lapidary and the daughter of a dealer in precious stones. AlfredVan Cleef and Estelle Arpels were married in 1895 and it was this harmonious connection which sowed the seed for what would become one of the most recognizable designer brands for luxury jewellery worldwide. In 1906 they set up their first ever store, the ‘Maison of Van Cleef & Arpels’ at 22 Place Vendome and to this day it remains a symbol of the strong heritage of this family run business.VC&A have maintained an extremely high standard of exper tise and craftmanship, allowing their team to create some of the most extraordinary and best-known collections and stand-alone pieces of the last century. In 1933VC&A created a technique which would lead to one of their most successful collections of all time:The Mystery Set! The Mystery set was created from a 910 carat, colour D rough diamond- known as the Lesotho legend.The landmark collection consisted of twenty-five breath-taking pieces, all of which employed the mystery set technique.This iconic technique made it possible to set stones without the visibility of a prong or a any other metal component- giving the jewellery pieces a velvety quality and a seamlessness like never seen before. VC&A have a unique style which favours asymmetry, movement, lightness, wonderful colour associations and subtle dynamics, and above all reflects a vital source of creative inspiration- the natural world. Creating for celebrities, royals and the worlds lavishly wealthy VC&A have produced some of the most prized jewellery pieces in modern society. Among their best-known designs are the Alhambra collection, the zip necklace, the ballerina pins, and the secret watch. Hannah Kelly