Does luck ever go out of style? In the case of Van Cleef & Arpels and its hugely popular Alhambra line, the answer is no—and reinventing it is how the maison keeps that luck alive. This season, the French house introduces a series of new Alhambra creations designed to be worn in multiple ways.
The original design debuted in 1968 and quickly became a symbol of the free-spirited Sixties. Alhambra was inspired by two places: the quatrefoil motifs of Spain’s Alhambra Palace, and the four-leaf clovers collected in the garden of Jacques Arpels, nephew of the maison’s founder. “To be lucky, you have to believe in luck,” he famously said.
Magic Alhambra arrived in 2006 and marked the first time the maison played with different clover sizes. The new collection continues that idea but adds a first-ever twist: transformability. A 15-motif long necklace can become a shorter 11-motif one—along with a 4-motif bracelet—thanks to hidden clasps seamlessly worked into the design.
Once again, colour brings a new personality. This chapter introduces rings, bracelets, necklaces, and a watch built around the four-leaf clover, each edged with the maison’s signature gold beading. One palette pairs guilloché rose gold with white and grey mother-of-pearl; another blends guilloché white gold with chalcedony and white mother-of-pearl for a cool, luminous finish.
The new Vintage Alhambra reversible rings use a smooth turning mechanism to reveal a second face: chalcedony or grey mother-of-pearl on one side, and a diamond framed in guilloché gold on the other. A Sweet Alhambra watch also joins the line, combining guilloché white gold with chalcedony and diamonds.
Alhambra endures because it is classic yet constantly renewed. Everyone from Grace Kelly to Becca Bloom—and even the men of TikTok—have made it their own. With the new additions, Alhambra continues its evolution, proving that good luck never truly goes out of style.
This story originally appeared on GRAZIA Malaysia.
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