Van Cleef & Arpels was founded in Paris in 1906 by Alfred Van Cleef and the Arpels brothers — Charles, Julien, and Louis — sons of jeweler Salomon Arpels. The maison's Place Vendôme address remains its headquarters more than a century later.

In 1933, Van Cleef & Arpels patented the Mystery Set, an invisible setting technique in which precious stones are mounted with no visible prongs or metalwork between them. The technique requires hundreds of hours per piece and is still used today on the maison's most important high jewelry.

Across collections like Alhambra, Perlée, and Frivole, Van Cleef & Arpels remains one of the most distinctive voices in twentieth-century French jewelry.