Van Cleef & Arpels is a French luxury jewelry company.[1] It was founded in 1896 by the Dutch diamond-cutter Alfred Van Cleef and his father-in-law Salomon Arpels in Paris.[2] Their pieces often feature flowers, animals, and fairies, and have been worn by style icons and royalty such as Grace Kelly, the Duchess of Cambridge, Ava Gardner, [3] Farah Pahlavi,[4] Eva Per?n,[5] Elizabeth Taylor, the Duchess of Windsor and Queen Nazli of Egypt. The Dutch diamond-cutter Alfred Van Cleef and his father-in-law, Salomon Arpels, founded the company in 1896. In 1906, following Arpels?s death, Alfred and two of his brothers-in-law, Charles and Julien, acquired space for Van Cleef & Arpels at 22 Place Vend?me, across from the H?tel Ritz, where Van Cleef & Arpels opened its first boutique shop.[6] The third Arpels brother, Louis Arpels, joined the company in 1913.[7] Van Cleef & Arpels opened 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.[8] Alfred and Esther?s daughter, Ren?e (born Rachel) Puissant, assumed the company?s artistic direction in 1926. Puissant worked closely with draftsman Ren? Sim Lacaze for the next twenty years.[8] Van Cleef & Arpels were the first French jewelers to open boutiques in Japan and China. Compagnie Financi?re Richemont S.A. acquired the firm in 1999. In 1966, Van Cleef & Arpels was charged with the task of making the crown of Empress Farah Pahlavi for her upcoming coronation in 1967. A team was sent to Iran to choose the major gems to use for the crown. After 11 months of work,[9] the company presented the empress with a crown made of emerald velvet set with 36 emeralds, 36 rubies, 105 pearls and 1,469 diamonds.[10] Van Cleef & Arpels was charged with the task of making the crown of Queen Nazli of Egypt in the 1930s.