Van Cleef & Arpels' Heritage Collection offers jewellery lovers an opportunity to own a rarity imbued with history

There is an undeniable romance and allure that comes with vintage jewellery. Showcasing the design sensibilities of an era long gone, it stands as a herald of history that can inspire awe and admiration as any museum piece of interest would. However, unlike a terracotta vase from Ancient Greece, this fascinating specimen can be easily worn to a cocktail soiree.

The popularity of estate and antique jewellery has risen considerably over the past decade, with market research analyst Kentley Insights pegging its global retail sales at US$4.2 billion (about S$5.74 billion) in their August 2023 report. The good news is that auctions and private jewellery dealers are not the only recourses for people looking to grow or start their vintage gem stash. Van Cleef & Arpels’ Heritage Collection allows you to own a glittering piece of the past with brand designs that span a century to the 1920s.

Founded in 2007, the Heritage Collection began as a small project when a New York boutique manager realised his clients were turning to auctions to acquire vintage Van Cleef & Arpels designs. “He had many clients, including ones from his days in the auction world,” said Van Cleef & Arpels' deputy heritage director Natacha Vassiltchikov. “So, he thought it could be interesting to offer some of these pieces ourselves. He started small, buying back a few pieces and reselling them; more as a bespoke service [for clients]. It was quite successful, and he grew the collection to an international level.”

Today, the collection consists of almost 200 jewels and precious objects created between the 1920s and 1990s — all available for purchase and regularly updated with new acquisitions that have been meticulously authenticated and examined.

First, Van Cleef & Arpels' Patrimony department scours the archives (including customer records, books of accounts and bodies of drawings) to identify the creation. Then, it moves into the skilled hands of the workshop artisans who analyse its materials and condition before it is cleaned and repaired per the maison’s strict standards of savoir-faire. A set of rigorous processes takes place before any piece is admitted into the Heritage Collection and made ready for sale — which can sometimes lead to some disheartening situations. “We have a dedicated team for the sourcing and buying [of pieces], and I heard a story from them about a beautiful aquamarine bracelet that was submitted to us,” Vassiltchikov shared. “It was from the 1960s; the signature looked right, and everything looked perfect. We were very happy until we researched it in the archives and found that the stones were originally sapphires that had been taken out and replaced by aquamarines. So, we couldn't take it back. It was a big disappointment, but these things happen.”

She’s quick to add that these moments are more than made up for when a client brings in a design that ticks all the boxes and is delighted to learn the provenance of their piece. In other words, the Heritage Collection stands for more than just a sales avenue. Instead, it is a means by which the maison’s history and creativity are preserved and perpetuated with the retelling of the stories that come wrapped with each creation.

“Our goal is for our clients to know that this collection exists because it serves several purposes,” Vassiltchikov explained. “It's an educational tool that shows the rich history of the maison and its level of excellence, and it reinforces the fact that our contemporary pieces will become the heritage pieces of tomorrow. It gives clients more confidence to invest [in Van Cleef & Arpels] because they see that these pieces are timeless and have lasting value.”

It’s not just high jewellery creations that Vassiltchikov is referring to. According to her, the team works hard to ensure that the Heritage Collection is an encompassing one that comprises designs from different decades (those from the 1920s to 1940s are the hardest to come by), a variety of jewellery types (brooches have proved to be most popular in recent years) and, more importantly, different price points: They start from about S$21,800 and go up to S$7.3 million, with a majority falling below the S$300,000 mark.“We don’t approach [the Heritage Collection] as an exclusive one, in the sense that only VIPs have access to it,” she said. “We always have some pieces present at events, and we try to circulate them among our boutiques so that clients can see them all over the world. We also have a dedicated Instagram account for the collection.”

The latter is a particularly effective strategy for the maison. After all, the collection has its fair share of fans among the younger set and their love for nostalgia — a fact that Vassiltchikov admits was unexpected when she started working on the Heritage Collection some five years ago. “To be honest, I imagined the buyers to be mature clients, real collectors. Today, I find that they are less collectors than clients who have just fallen in love with the design. It’s more common to see younger clients wearing a beautiful heritage piece with jeans and a T-shirt — especially in Asia. This is a new market: Young people who find heritage pieces very fashionable.” So what Heritage designs would she recommend a young jewellery lover to collect?

“I would start with an Art Deco double clip; a diamond one in platinum or gold that you can wear in very creative ways. We did a lot of beautiful ones and, for me, it’s very representative of a different era and a high jewellery maison. I’d also say a Mystery Set Ludo [bracelet]. But the problem is, they are so iconic and almost impossible to come by. So, realistically, buy a 1960s bracelet with incredible goldwork that can be worn easily with other bracelets; those are fun. Then, choose a piece inspired by faraway countries like India or China — they were so influential [in the history of jewellery]. I think that is what surprises clients most about the maison: The richness of its past and its varied creative paths. This is what the Heritage Collection reveals.”