A DIAMOND CLIP/BROOCH, VAN CLEEF AND ARPELS

Hammer

R180,000

A DIAMOND CLIP/BROOCH, VAN CLEEF AND ARPELS

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Designed as a stylised floral spray with three domed spiral motifs composed of coiled wire and embellished with ninety round brilliant-cut diamonds, in sizes, weighing approximately 8.00cts in total, approximate colour E-G, approximate clarity VS/SI, numbered 85589, signed VAN CLEEF & ARPELS and engraved 750, gross weight approximately 35gms, approximately 5,2cm in length

The famed Haute Joaillerie Maison of Van Cleef and Arpels was founded in a love story. In 1895 Alfred Van Cleef, the son of a diamond cutter, married Estelle Arpels, the daughter of a precious gem dealer, and the following year Alfred and his father-in-law, Salomon Arpels, formed Van Cleef and Arpels.

The company is renowned for its excellence in design, craftsmanship and materials. Throughout its history it has created fabulous pieces of jewellery for royalty, celebrities and wealthy patrons. The Duke of Windsor, for example, is said to have spent hours at a time with the companyâ??s designers commissioning romantic tokens of love for Wallis. His gifts included the diamond and ruby â??Deux Plumesâ?? clip for Christmas 1936. Its rubies are â??mysteryâ?? set â?? a demanding technique patented by Van Cleef and Arpels which results in the gems forming uninterrupted fields of colour.

More recently, Van Cleef and Arpels produced the Ocean Tiara which Prince Albert II of Monaco presented to Charlene Wittstock as a wedding gift when they married in 2011. Crafted in diamonds and sapphires, it was especially designed to reflect Charleneâ??s Olympic swimming achievements and to evoke â??the worldâ??s different seas, from the waters off the coast of Monaco to the ocean around South Africa.â??

Van Cleef and Arpels jewels embody a sense of luxury and glamour and they have an enduring appeal to collectors of the finest jewellery around the world.