Sell Your Van Cleef & Arpels Jewellery

The house began with a marriage: Alfred Van Cleef and Estelle Arpels wed in 1895, and Van Cleef & Arpels opened at 22 Place Vendôme in Paris in 1906. It patented its Mystery Set technique in 1933, setting rubies and sapphires on hidden rails so that no metal shows between the stones, and it introduced the Alhambra four-leaf clover in 1968. Today almost every piece we are offered is either Alhambra, one of the nature-inspired lines that followed it, or an older signed jewel from the house's Paris or New York workshops.

Alhambra, in every line. The clover-shaped motif with its beaded gold edge comes in several sizes and constructions, and the line is the first thing we identify:

• Vintage Alhambra: the classic motif, as pendants, five-motif bracelets, earrings, rings and ten or twenty-motif long necklaces.
• Sweet Alhambra: the smaller motif, often bracelets, earstuds and pendants, including the heart and butterfly variants.
• Magic Alhambra: mixed motif sizes on one chain, and the larger single-motif pendants and earrings.
• Byzantine and other limited variants: openwork, guilloché gold and seasonal holiday stones.

The other lines. Perlée bangles and rings with their gold bead borders, Frivole flower earrings and pendants, Lucky Spring and Lucky Animals, Between the Finger rings, Fleurette and Cosmos diamond pieces, and Zip.

Vintage and high jewellery. Clips and brooches from the 1930s to the 1970s, gold bracelets and cufflinks, Mystery Set pieces, ballerina and fairy clips, and boxes and suites with their original cases.

With Alhambra the design is the same across thousands of pieces, so the detail does the work. These are the points I check:

• The line and the size of the motif. Vintage, Sweet and Magic are different pieces and are valued differently.
• The material. Mother-of-pearl, grey mother-of-pearl, onyx, carnelian, malachite, chalcedony, turquoise, lapis lazuli, tiger's eye, guilloché gold or pavé diamonds. Some materials were only made in limited runs.
• The metal. Yellow, white or rose gold, which on Alhambra also changes the colour of the beaded border.
• The number of motifs. One, five, ten or twenty, and whether a long necklace can be worn doubled.
• The condition of each motif. Chips, cracks or lifting at the edge of the inlay, worn beading, scratches to onyx and mother-of-pearl. Every motif is checked, not just the front one.
• Completeness. The box, the Van Cleef & Arpels certificate and the receipt. The certificate matters most, because it records the reference and the serial number.

We buy without the box or certificate. We say plainly how completeness affects the estimate, and we never price a piece we have not identified.

Free, no obligation, returned at our cost if you decline.

Van Cleef & Arpels jewels we have bought and sold ourselves include a Lion Ébouriffé brooch in gold with diamonds and emeralds, a carved coral and diamond ring with French marks, a mother-of-pearl marqueterie bombé ring, a diamond rope-work cross brooch from the 1980s, a multi-strand cultured pearl and diamond bow bracelet in platinum, a platinum and diamond ring, and an original suite presentation case with its moulded tray.

Alhambra is the Van Cleef & Arpels we are offered most. Lay a necklace or bracelet flat and photograph its full length, then the back of one motif showing VCA, the serial and the eagle's head, and the clasp. Tell us how many motifs it has and whether you have the certificate, because the serial on it should match the piece.

Perlée bangles, rings and earrings are edged with rows of gold beads, in plain gold or with diamonds, mother-of-pearl or hardstone. The beads should be round and even; some flattening on a bangle worn every day is normal, and we take it into account. Photograph the inside of the piece with its signature and number.

Estate Van Cleef & Arpels includes 1930s to 1970s clips and brooches, gold bracelets, early Alhambra sautoirs and Mystery Set pieces, as well as the house's original fitted cases. These are read from the full signature or VCA mark, the workshop number and the French or American marks, and valued individually. We have handled a carved coral ring with French marks and a Lion Ébouriffé brooch.