VAN CLEEF & ARPELS TURQUOISE DIAMOND BRACELET

Designer: VCA Year: 1960s-70s Material: 18k Yellow Gold Measurement: L 18cm x W 1.39cm Weight: 60 Grams Size: Adjustable, Fits Up to 6.2" Wrist Made in France On October 26, 1958, Pan American World Airways inaugurated the first scheduled transatlantic Boeing 707 service from New York to Paris, marking the beginning of regular high-speed passenger jet travel and dramatically shortening travel times across the Atlantic. By the 1960s, flights between Paris and Egypt had fully entered the jet age, with regular routes connecting Cairo, Paris, and other European capitals. This new era of travel did more than reshape transportation; it changed cultural taste itself. Collectors, designers, and jewelers looked outward with renewed fascination toward Asia, Persia, the Mediterranean, and the ancient world. The Arpel brothers were in full globetrotting swing, fresh off their adventures around Asia, brimming with inspiration and set to design some of their most iconic VAC pieces. This stunning bracelet captures the moment perfectly. Composed in richly worked 18k yellow gold, its rope-textured lattice forms a sequence of interlaced crossings set with cabochon Persian turquoise and brilliant-cut diamonds. Its repeating pattern evokes braided cord, ancient chainwork, maritime rope motifs, and stylized vine trellises. During this period, Van Cleef & Arpels excelled at transforming historically inspired motifs into jewels that felt light and modern. Europeans once referred to turquoise as the “Turkish stone” because it reached the continent through Ottoman trade routes, although its prestige dates back much further to Egyptian burial jewels, Persian court objects, and Mughal ornaments. The bracelet draws from Etruscan revival gold, Persian ornament, and Mughal color sensibility, yet reflects all the understated elegance of Parisian glamour. A beautiful heritage piece from the golden age of jet travel, a jewel of movement, sunlight, and cosmopolitan savoir-faire.