Complication Poétique Midnight Planétarium By Van Cleef & Arpels

In 1895, Esther Arpels , the daughter of Salomon Arpels, married Alfred Van Cleef, whose family were sheet merchants living in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France. The couple shared a pioneering spirit and a passion for precious stones. Alfred and his father-in-law, Salomon Arpels , created a company specializing in precious stones in 1896.
In 1906, following Arpels’s death, Alfred and two of his brothers-in-law, Salomon and Julien, acquired a space for Van Cleef & Arpels at 22 Place Vendôme, across from the Hôtel Ritz, where Van Cleef & Arpels opened its first boutique shop. Place Vendôme attracted Russian and European aristocrats and American businessmen; it was a symbol of Parisian luxury and the benchmark for international elegance. The third Arpels brother, Louis, soon joined the company.
Van Cleef & Arpels grew quickly, opening boutiques in holiday resorts such as Deauville, Vichy, Le Touquet, Nice, and Monte-Carlo. In 1925, a Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet with red and white roses fashioned from rubies and diamonds won the grand prize at the International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts.
Alfred and Esther’s daughter, Renée (born Rachel) Puissant, took over the company’s artistic direction in 1926. Puissant had an unbridled imagination, and although she couldn't draw, she had an excellent partner, draftsman René Sim Lacaz. The two led a twenty year wave of innovative and unusual creations.