Van Cleef & Arpels Vintage Alhambra Bracelet 5 Motifs 18K Yellow Gold Mother-of-Pearl

The Vintage Alhambra bracelet in 18K yellow gold — five white mother-of-pearl motifs, each one hand-cut from shell and set into a beaded gold frame. The nacre shifts as the light moves, cream into pale pink into cool white, no two motifs reading exactly alike. That variation is the material doing its job.

The build is what separates it. Every bead on every frame is worked and seated by hand, twenty per motif, and the clovers hang from a fine cable-link chain that lets them lie flat and turn with the wrist. Signed lobster clasp. Measures 7 inches.

The most-worn piece in the Alhambra range, and the reason is simple: white mother-of-pearl and yellow gold go with everything, and five motifs is the count that reads as jewelry rather than a statement.