Van Cleef & Arpels: Lucky in Pink

Some jewellery designs need little introduction. Alhambra is one of them. Introduced by Van Cleef & Arpels in 1968, its four-lobed shape resembles a four-leaf clover, a symbol of good luck. The name refers to the Alhambra palace in Granada and its Moorish architecture.

“To be lucky, you have to believe in luck.” Jacques Arpels, who joined the family jewellery house in the 1930s, often repeated these words. He was also known to pick four-leaf clovers from his garden and give them to his team. Synonymous with Paris, Van Cleef & Arpels has an Amsterdam connection: the Van Cleef family came from the city and worked with diamonds. Alfred married Estelle Arpels in Paris in 1895, bringing the two families together. Their first boutique opened at 22 Place Vendôme in 1906.

Savoir-faire, courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels

Over the decades, Alhambra has appeared in black onyx, mother-of-pearl, red carnelian, Sèvres porcelain and guilloché gold. And now, pink enamel. This is made using a technique based on a seventeenth-century gold-ruby process. Microscopic particles of gold give the enamel its pink colour. Tiny air bubbles remain visible. The slightly domed surface catches the light. The technique took years to develop in the house’s enamel workshops.

Van Cleef & Arpels has been present in Hong Kong for decades. Growing up in a Cantonese family, wearing something for luck was simply part of life. Auspicious symbols and colours are part of everything from jewellery and gifts to celebrations and everyday life.

And then there is the pink itself. Vivid, transparent and almost candy-like. Quite simply, this pink makes me happy.

Images courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels