Van Cleef & Arpels: The Spirit of Beauty

This sumptuous clothbound volume reviews the history of the legendary French perfume, watch and jewelry designers Van Cleef & Arpels. The Paris-based company's prestige stems from a long list of prominent commissionsissued by royal and imperial courts, financiers and industrial magnates, and its work resides in prominent treasuries worldwide. The full range of Van Cleef & Arpels' extraordinary jewelry has now been reassembled from numerous private collections and public museums, and is presented here together for the first time. The designs are grouped under four different "Spirit of Beauty," "Spirit of Elegance," "Spirit of Adventure" and "Incarnation." The photographer for this book is Patrick Gries of La Fondation Cartier; an introduction by the great movie actress Catherine Deneuve sums up the elegance of the Van Cleef & Arpels style.