VCA Sweet Alhambra Bracelet (mother-of-pearl)

A clover picked in a backyard

Van Cleef & Arpels has used luck as a theme for more than a century. The house says four-leaf clover motifs appear in its archives as early as 1906, alongside other good-luck symbols such as wooden talismans, charms and benevolent fairies. Jacques Arpels, a nephew of the founding couple, would pick four-leaf clovers in his backyard and hand them to employees as good-luck charms. 'To be lucky, you have to believe in luck,' he liked to say.

In 1968 the house turned the idea into its most lasting design: the first Alhambra long necklace, 20 clover-shaped motifs in yellow gold trimmed with gold beads. The maker says it was an immediate success. Through the 1970s it was worn by Princess Grace of Monaco, photographed in 1979 wearing three Alhambra long necklaces at once, by Romy Schneider on a 1973 film set and by Francoise Hardy, who wore two in 1973.

The clover had a commercial logic too. In 1954 the house had opened La Boutique in Paris, a line of more casual jewelry meant to be worn in the daytime rather than only in the evening. The Alhambra, introduced 14 years later, became the most enduring design to come out of that idea.

A Place Vendome house

The house traces its story to a marriage. In the maker's own account, Estelle Arpels and Alfred Van Cleef, both from families of jewelry merchants, married in Paris in 1895, and in 1906 the Maison of Van Cleef & Arpels opened at 22 Place Vendome. Another account dates the business to 1896, founded by Alfred Van Cleef with his father-in-law, Salomon Arpels, and says Alfred and his brothers-in-law Charles and Julien Arpels took the Place Vendome space, across from the Hotel Ritz, after Salomon's death. The two versions agree on the 1906 boutique.

Alfred and Estelle's daughter, Renee Puissant, became artistic director in 1926 and shaped the house's recognizable style. The house opened its New York flagship at 744 Fifth Avenue in 1940 and has stayed there since. Richemont acquired the firm in 1999. Nicolas Bos, head of Van Cleef & Arpels from 2013, was named chief executive of Richemont in 2024.

The smallest clover

Over the decades the Alhambra has been reissued at different scales and in many materials. Vintage Alhambra keeps the original 1968 proportions. Magic Alhambra, introduced in the early 2000s, enlarges the clover and mixes sizes in one piece. Sweet Alhambra goes the other way, with smaller and more delicate motifs. One collector guide dates the Sweet line to 2007, after the success of Magic Alhambra, and calls it the most accessible Alhambra line by price. The maker's own page does not give a launch year, so 2007 rests on that guide.

Van Cleef & Arpels describes Sweet Alhambra as presenting the clover 'in a more subtle, discreet, and elegant form.' The bracelet is the line's best-known piece: one clover, here inlaid with white mother-of-pearl, on a fine 18k yellow gold chain. It is often stacked with other bracelets or paired with a larger Alhambra necklace, since every Alhambra piece is designed to be worn with the others.

The same bracelet is sold in other stones and metals, and the Sweet line also includes a pendant and earstuds. On the maker's U.S. site on October 1, 2026, the mother-of-pearl Sweet Alhambra pendant was $1,800 and the earstuds $2,900, while a five-motif Vintage Alhambra bracelet in the same materials was $5,350.

How to read one

The reference VCARF68800 identifies the yellow gold and white mother-of-pearl version. The motif is a four-leaf clover with a beaded gold rim around a flat stone inlay, the same frame as the larger Alhambra pieces in miniature. One resold example, sold with its original sales invoice dated January 2022, was described as a 9 mm motif on a 7-inch chain with a lobster clasp and a gross weight of 1.90 grams.

Another resold bracelet with the same reference was listed as 6.89 inches long, made in France, with a hallmarked clasp and its box but no papers. Mother-of-pearl is a natural material, so its sheen and figure vary from one motif to the next.

What it costs

This is a current-production reference, so its main price is the maker's own. Before the April 25, 2025 increase, the yellow gold mother-of-pearl Sweet Alhambra bracelet was $1,420 in the United States. After it, the price was $1,540, an 8.4 percent rise. In Europe the same bracelet went from 1,530 to 1,600 euros. On October 1, 2026, the maker's U.S. site listed it at $1,630. These are asking prices for a new bracelet, not sales.

In the same 2025 round, the white gold and diamond Sweet Alhambra bracelet went from $3,400 to $3,500, and a six-motif diamond version from $11,300 to $11,700. Resale prices depend on condition and on whether the box and papers come with the bracelet.

The numbers

Carat weight

None; no diamonds on this version

Stone

White mother-of-pearl, one motif

Color and clarity

Not applicable; mother-of-pearl is not graded that way

Origin

Not disclosed by the maker

Cutter

Not disclosed by the maker

Metal

18k yellow gold

Motif size

About 9 mm across, per one resold example

Weight

1.90 grams gross, per one resold example

Timeline

1. 1895

   Estelle Arpels and Alfred Van Cleef marry in Paris, in the maker's account.

2. 1906

   Van Cleef & Arpels opens at 22 Place Vendome; four-leaf clover motifs appear in the house archives from this year.

3. 1926

   Renee Puissant, the founders' daughter, becomes artistic director.

4. 1940

   The house opens its New York flagship at 744 Fifth Avenue.

5. 1954

   La Boutique opens in Paris, offering more casual daytime jewelry.

6. 1968

   The first Alhambra long necklace, 20 gold clover motifs, is created.

7. 1973

   Romy Schneider and Francoise Hardy are photographed wearing Alhambra long necklaces.

8. 1979

   Princess Grace of Monaco is photographed wearing three Alhambra long necklaces.

9. 1999

   Richemont acquires Van Cleef & Arpels.

10. 2007

    The Sweet Alhambra line is launched, according to one collector guide.

11. Jan 2022

    Date on the original sales invoice of one later-resold VCARF68800 bracelet.

12. Apr 25, 2025

    U.S. retail rises from $1,420 to $1,540.

13. Oct 1, 2026

    The maker's U.S. site lists the bracelet at $1,630.

The world in 2007

• Jan 1, 2007

  Bulgaria and Romania join the European Union.

• Jan 9, 2007

  Steve Jobs introduces the original iPhone in San Francisco; it goes on sale in the United States on June 29.

• May 6, 2007

  Nicolas Sarkozy is elected president of France.

• 2007

  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the last book in the series, is the year's best-selling novel.

• Aug 9, 2007

  A French bank blocks withdrawals from three funds exposed to subprime loans, an early signal of the financial crisis.

• Dec 13, 2007

  European Union members sign the Treaty of Lisbon.

Price record

This is an asking price, not a sale. It is what a seller wanted on the date shown. Asking prices often sit above what buyers pay, but an ask is not a ceiling: a sale can land on either side of it. It is not a value.

By reference price, VCA Sweet Alhambra Bracelet (mother-of-pearl) is number 98 of 100 in the jewelry entries of the FLOAT 100. 44 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (53 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• Jacques Arpels picked four-leaf clovers in his own backyard and gave them to employees as good-luck charms.
• The first Alhambra piece was not a bracelet but a long necklace of 20 clovers, made in 1968.
• Princess Grace of Monaco was photographed in 1979 wearing three Alhambra long necklaces at the same time.
• In the April 2025 price round the mother-of-pearl Sweet Alhambra bracelet rose 8.4 percent in the United States but only 4.5 percent in Europe.
• The whole bracelet can weigh less than 2 grams: one resold example weighed 1.90 grams.