FLOAT 100 · Jewelry · No. 49
VCA Vintage Alhambra Long Necklace, 20 Motifs (malachite + diamond)
It began with a jeweler who picked four-leaf clovers in his backyard and handed them to his staff; in its diamond-and-malachite form, the same twenty-clover chain now lists at $74,500.
- Year
- current
- Maker
- Van Cleef & Arpels
- By price in jewelry
- 44 of 100
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Create a free account- Maker
- Van Cleef & Arpels, Paris
- Current reference
- VCARO7GP00 (Vintage Alhambra long necklace, 20 motifs, 18k yellow gold, diamond, malachite)
- Design
- Twenty clover-shaped Vintage Alhambra motifs, ten in malachite alternating with ten set with round diamonds, each framed by a beaded gold border
- Diamonds
- 120 round diamonds, 4.83 carats total, D to F color, IF to VVS clarity, as described by two dealers
- Length
- About 33.8 to 34 inches
- Original design
- 1968, the first Alhambra long necklace: 20 motifs in textured yellow gold
- US retail price
- $74,500 at the maker's US boutique, October 2026
- Public auction result
- $40,320 at an online auction in New York, April 7, 2022
- Markings
- Signed VCA, serial-numbered, French gold marks; 750 for 18k gold
A clover from the backyard
Luck was a theme at Van Cleef & Arpels long before the Alhambra existed. The company says four-leaf clover motifs appear in its archives as early as 1906, alongside wooden talismans, charms and fairies. Its archive holds product cards for a clover brooch in 1933 and 1936 and a clover clip in 1948, and in about 1916 it made "Touch Wood" pieces combining wood with precious materials as a nod to good-luck charms.
The person most tied to the idea was Jacques Arpels, a nephew of the founding couple. According to the company, he picked four-leaf clovers in his own backyard and gave them to employees, sometimes with a copy of the English poem "Don't Quit" as an invitation to keep hope. His saying is still quoted by the house: "To be lucky, you have to believe in luck."
In 1968 the house turned that habit into a product: the first Alhambra long necklace, 20 clover-shaped motifs in textured yellow gold trimmed with gold beads. The company says it was an immediate success. Every Vintage Alhambra piece made today, including this diamond and malachite version, is described by the maker as faithful to that original 1968 motif.
The name itself is less clearly documented. Auction specialists have written that the design was inspired by the arches of the Alhambra palace in Granada, Spain, and one auction firm's guide says Jacques Arpels visited the palace in the late 1960s. The company's own history pages, which we read, describe the clover and luck but do not mention the palace, so that link should be treated as a story told about the design rather than a documented fact.
The house on Place Vendôme
Van Cleef & Arpels traces itself to the 1895 Paris wedding of Esther "Estelle" Arpels and Alfred Van Cleef, both from families of jewelry merchants. In 1906 Alfred and his brother-in-law Charles Arpels opened the first boutique at 22 Place Vendôme, and the company says it has never moved from that address.
Accounts of the early years differ. The company's timeline dates the founding of the house to 1906 and says Julien and Louis Arpels joined in 1908 and 1912. Wikipedia gives a founding date of 1896, names Alfred's father-in-law Salomon Arpels as co-founder, and says Louis joined in 1913. An auction firm's guide also uses 1906.
The Alhambra came out of a shift toward everyday jewelry. Auction specialists note that the house opened La Boutique in Paris in 1954 to sell more accessible pieces for daily wear, and that the Alhambra followed in 1968. The luxury group Richemont acquired Van Cleef & Arpels in 1999, and in 2024 Nicolas Bos, head of the jeweler since 2013, became Richemont's chief executive.
Born in the year of May 68
The Alhambra appeared in a turbulent year in France. In March 1968 students occupied offices at the Nanterre campus of the University of Paris, and by May students were fighting police in the streets of Paris while trade unions joined a march of about a million people. One auction firm's guide argues that a relaxed, bohemian necklace suited a France where the young were rejecting their parents' conservatism.
The necklace soon had famous wearers. The company's archive shows the actress Romy Schneider wearing an Alhambra long necklace on the set of Le Mouton Enragé in 1973, the singer Françoise Hardy wearing two Alhambra sautoirs the same year, and Princess Grace of Monaco wearing three Alhambra sautoirs at once in 1979.
The company says the collection has "continuously expanded and renewed itself" since then. Its own collection holds an onyx Alhambra long necklace from 1978 and an all-gold one from 1979. Watches joined the line in 1998, and the motif now comes in three sizes: Vintage (the original), Magic (larger, asymmetric arrangements) and Sweet (miniature).
Reading the necklace
This version alternates ten malachite clovers with ten clovers set with round diamonds, all on an 18k yellow gold chain. Two dealers describe the current model as carrying 120 round diamonds with a total weight of 4.83 carats, graded D to F in color and internally flawless to VVS in clarity, with a chain about 33.8 inches long. One dealer gives the weight as 54.9 grams. A 2019 example sold at auction in 2022 was cataloged with 120 diamonds of about 4.70 to 4.80 carats, a length of 86.7 cm (34 1/8 inches) and a weight of 56.3 grams, so figures vary slightly between examples and catalogers.
The maker says it chooses malachite that shows straight, even banding. It describes the stone as deep green streaked with light and dark lines, notes that the name may come from the Greek word for the mallow plant or the Greek for "soft," and says malachite was prized in 19th-century Russia for decorating churches and palaces and was once given to children and travelers as a protective charm.
The house describes several steps that a careful buyer can check. Each motif sits in a mount bordered by a double row of gold beads, polished until even. On the back, the claws holding each stone are rounded into small balls so they do not catch on skin or clothing. The clasp carries the house monogram, and the chain is faceted to catch the light.
Auction catalogs describe genuine examples as signed VCA and serial-numbered, with French gold marks and the 750 mark for 18k gold. The 2022 example came with a 2019 certificate of authenticity from the maker. One auction firm's guide says the signature, serial number and French marks are what separate a Van Cleef & Arpels price from a generic one, and that boxes and paperwork matter most for modern Alhambra pieces, where many similar examples compete.
What the twenty-motif necklace brings
The diamond and malachite version lists at $74,500 at the maker's US boutique as of October 2026. Pre-owned examples are offered below that: one dealer asked $59,500 for a necklace made around 2010 to 2020, and another listed one with box and papers at $63,325. The highest public auction result we found for this exact combination was $40,320 at an online auction in New York on April 7, 2022.
The plain malachite version, with gold motifs and no diamonds, sells at far lower prices and gives a longer record. A malachite and gold necklace of 20 clover links signed for the New York branch sold in New York in October 2010 for $10,625 against an estimate of $4,000 to $6,000. Others sold online in New York for $17,640 in March 2024 and $15,120 in June 2025; the 2025 example had one plaque with a visible fracture. In Paris, a malachite Alhambra sautoir sold for 18,750 euros in December 2021.
Malachite has become one of the more expensive stones in the line. When the house raised prices worldwide on April 25, 2025, malachite pieces saw the largest increases in both the US and Europe. Auction specialists say 20-motif necklaces in rare materials are the most sought-after Alhambra pieces, partly because matching 20 colored stones is hard. Other versions have brought higher prices: an all-diamond 20-motif necklace sold in Hong Kong in April 2025 for HKD 825,500, about $126,000.
The design's fame has also made it a target. In November 2025 a French trade publication reported that the company was bringing several counterfeiting lawsuits to protect the Alhambra line, and that the line tops the charts for counterfeit seizures, with US seizures at record levels.
The numbers
- Carat weight
- 4.83 ct total across 120 round diamonds (dealer descriptions); one auction catalog gave about 4.70-4.80 ct
- Color and clarity
- D to F color, IF to VVS clarity (dealer descriptions)
- Malachite
- 10 motifs; the maker selects stones with straight, uniform banding
- Origin mine
- Not disclosed by the maker
- Cutter
- Not disclosed; the maker describes motif making, setting and polishing in its own workshops
- Metal
- 18k yellow gold, French marks, 750
- Weight
- 54.9 g (one dealer example); 56.3 g (2022 auction example)
Timeline
Estelle Arpels and Alfred Van Cleef marry in Paris.
The first Van Cleef & Arpels boutique opens at 22 Place Vendôme; four-leaf clover motifs appear in the house archives from this year.
The house makes Touch Wood pieces, a nod to good-luck charms.
A clover brooch is recorded on a product card in the archives.
A clover clip is recorded on a product card.
La Boutique opens in Paris, selling more accessible jewelry for daily wear.
The first Alhambra long necklace is created: 20 clover motifs in textured yellow gold with beaded borders.
Romy Schneider and Françoise Hardy are photographed wearing Alhambra long necklaces.
Princess Grace of Monaco is photographed wearing three Alhambra sautoirs at once.
Alhambra watches join the collection.
Richemont acquires Van Cleef & Arpels.
A malachite and gold 20-motif necklace signed for the New York branch sells in New York for $10,625.
The maker issues a certificate of authenticity for a diamond and malachite 20-motif necklace later sold at auction.
A malachite Alhambra sautoir sells in Paris for 18,750 euros.
A diamond and malachite 20-motif necklace sells online in New York for $40,320.
The house raises prices worldwide; malachite pieces see the largest increases.
A French trade publication reports a wave of counterfeiting lawsuits over the Alhambra line.
The diamond and malachite 20-motif necklace (VCARO7GP00) lists at $74,500 at US retail.
The world in 1968
Alexander Dubček becomes leader of Czechoslovakia's Communist Party, opening the Prague Spring.
The Winter Olympics open in Grenoble, France.
Students occupy offices at the Nanterre campus of the University of Paris, setting off the events of May 68.
Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis.
Student protesters begin battling police in the streets of Paris.
Warsaw Pact troops invade Czechoslovakia, ending the Prague Spring.
Apollo 8 enters lunar orbit, and William Anders photographs Earthrise.
Price record
| Date | Price | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 7, 2022 | $40,320 | Sold at auctionOnline auction in New York; 20 motifs, malachite and about 4.70-4.80 ct of round diamonds, with a 2019 maker's certificate. |
| Oct 2026 | $59,500 | Asking price, not a salePre-owned dealer listing, made circa 2010-2020, 120 diamonds totaling 4.83 ct, with maker's paperwork. |
| Oct 2026 | $63,325 | Asking price, not a salePre-owned dealer listing with box and papers, ref. VCARO7GP00, marked down from $74,500. |
| Oct 1, 2026 | $74,500 | Asking price, not a saleMaker's US boutique retail price, ref. VCARO7GP00. |
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 Vintage Alhambra Long Necklace, 20 Motifs (malachite + diamond) is number 44 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 (49 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.
Did you know
- Jacques Arpels handed out four-leaf clovers he picked himself, sometimes with a copy of the English poem "Don't Quit."
- On the back of each motif, the claws are rounded into tiny balls so they do not snag on skin or clothing.
- Princess Grace of Monaco was photographed in 1979 wearing three Alhambra sautoirs at the same time.
- Malachite was once given to children and travelers as a protective charm, according to the maker.
- In the April 2025 price increase, malachite was the stone with the biggest rise in both the US and Europe.
- A malachite Alhambra necklace signed for the New York branch sold in 2010 for more than 1.7 times its high estimate.
How this page is made
- The figure
- One reference price, shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
- Realized or not
- A realized price is a completed sale. An asking price, an estimate and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
- The story
- Researched from published records and checked fact by fact. Updated Oct 1, 2026.
- Archive
- Oct 5, 2026