Van Cleef & Arpels Vintage Alhambra 5 Motif 18k Yellow Gold Onyx Bracelet

The Vintage Alhambra bracelet is the piece most often cited as the entry point to the Van Cleef & Arpels universe, and for good reason. Jacques Arpels conceived the original Alhambra in 1968, adapting the quatrefoil clover from the Moorish architecture of the Alhambra palace in Granada and surrounding it with a border of fine gold beads — a beaded perimeter that has since become one of the most recognizable signatures in fine jewelry. This pre-owned 5-motif bracelet pairs the classic 18k yellow gold framework with black onyx inlays, the most graphic and arguably the most versatile of the Alhambra's stone variations.

The bracelet carries five individual quatrefoil motifs linked by short segments of fine yellow gold chain. Each clover is inlaid with a disc of solid black onyx, cut to the precise silhouette of the motif and polished to a deep glassy finish that reads almost as lacquer against the warmth of the gold. Van Cleef & Arpels selects its onyx for density of color and absence of banding — the stone should read as a single unbroken field of black, and here it does. The contrast between the cool onyx and the yellow gold border is what gives this particular pairing its graphic punch; it sits equally well against a white cuff, a black sweater, or bare skin in summer.

Surrounding each onyx center is the signature perlée edge: small gold beads around the perimeter of the quatrefoil. This beading has been part of the Alhambra since the 1968 original and is one of the details Van Cleef & Arpels has never modernized. It is what softens the clover's geometry, catches light along the edge of the motif, and separates an authentic Alhambra from the countless imitations the design has inspired over the past half-century. The bracelet finishes with a discreet signature-engraved oval clasp.

The bracelet measures 6 3/4" in length