Rating and value of Van Cleef & Arpels jewels - Zip collection

If you own a piece of Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry from the Zip collection, and would like to know its value, our state-approved experts and auctioneers will offer you their appraisal services.

Our specialists will carry out a free appraisal of your work, and provide you with a precise estimate of its value on the current market.

Then, if you wish to sell your work, we will direct you to the best possible arrangement to obtain the optimum price.

Their value can vary depending on the material : gold jewelry is always highly prized, but original creations set with precious stones or diamonds are all the more prized.

Rating and value of Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry  

Van Cleef & Arpels creations are highly prized items at auction. They are collected by bidders of all nationalities. Now, prices for these objects can rise considerably under the auctioneer's hammer.

ZIp collections are particularly prized, by buyers from all over the world. The price at which they sell on the art market ranges from €1,000 to €2.4 million, at the moment, a consequent range but one that says a lot about the value that can be attributed to these objects.

The auction record for a piece of jewelry from the Zip collection is to date held by a necklace sold for €819,000 at Christie's. It should be noted that it achieved this amount thanks to its rarity and the quality of the gemstones.

Order of value from a simple work to the most prestigious

Style and technique of the Zip collection

 The Zip collection was born in the 1930s and came to fruition in 1951. It embodies the meeting of haute couture and haute joaillerie, two important aesthetic languages of post-war Paris.

The original idea came from the Duchess of Windsor, who was an avant-garde patron of the house. She suggested that Renée Puissant, Alfred Van Cleef's daughter, and designer René-Sim Lacaze transform the zipper into an articulated jewel.

The Van Cleef & Arpels Zip then relied on micro-articulation engineering unrivalled at the time. Each tooth of the closure is set and polished by hand, ensuring continuous mobility without optical breakage.

The sliding mechanism is fully functional, allowing the jewel to be modulated as a necklace or bracelet, at the owner's convenience. The jewels in the collection are crafted in yellow gold or platinum, set with pavé diamonds, sapphires or rubies.

Some also feature alternating soft and rigid links. The whole bears witness to a mastery of metallic flexibility akin to kinetic goldsmithing. This collection thus fuses industrial aesthetics (the zipper, a symbol of functional modernity) with the grace of jewelry.

The Zip has thus become a paradoxical object, embodying the movement's modernist philosophy of luxury. The piece marks a stylistic transition from the poetic naturalism of Van Cleef & Arpels to an architectural formalism, heralding the modernity of the 1950s.

Original Zip pieces are rare today, with fewer than a dozen historical examples recorded. Their average price at public auction exceeds €500,000, with records in excess of €1.2 million depending on the gem.

These creations are sometimes exhibited in the collections of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Paris) and the Victoria & Albert Museum (London), Zip are studied as examples of functional hybridization between art, engineering and fashion.

The Zip collection therefore illustrates Van Cleef & Arpels' ability to transform a utilitarian motif into exceptional jewelry, demonstrating that high jewelry can be both a technical experiment and an aesthetic discourse on modernity.

Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry and watches at auction

Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry and watches are sought-after at many auctions. Contemporary "Alhambra" sets are particularly popular, but do not discredit older rings or watches, and accessories such as cufflinks or lady's brooches.

Demands are numerous, indeed the Maison has succeeded in carving out a place for itself among the great institutions. Van Cleef & Arpels owes its reputation to the exploitation of unchanging precious materials. The creations are composed of gold, mother-of-pearl, precious and semi-precious stones and diamonds. The House is renowned for the creativity it infuses into its work, as much as for its elegant finesse and sobriety.

It stands out for its colorful accessories, notably its gold brooches adorned with turquoise, sapphire and ruby. Goldsmith's work also adorns watchmaking Van Cleef & Arpels, watches become collector's items and are sometimes concealed behind precious floral compositions inspired by the seasons. The pieces are sought-after at auction and can fetch up to four times their original price.

The history of the Zip  

The first Zip piece took 20 years to be born in the workshops of Van Cleef & Arpels. The idea originated in the late '30s with the Duchess of Windsor, who suggested a piece of jewelry inspired by the zipper.

Technical development spanned more than a decade due to the mechanical complexity of the system. The first example of the Zip necklace was presented in 1951, after years of research into the flexibility of the metal and the miniaturization of the mechanism.

The Zip is designed to be transformable : it closes or works like a real zipper, which can be worn as a necklace or bracelet. This dual-use principle corresponds to the logic of functional modularity that characterizes the post-war era, a time of rational ingenuity and adaptable design.

The Zip combines the mechanical aesthetic with the femininity of couture jewelry, uniting two hitherto quite distinct spheres : fashion and jewelry. In the post-war years, haute couture, led by Christian Dior, reinvented luxury through the renaissance of the feminine silhouette. Van Cleef & Arpels transposed this renaissance into jewelry with the Zip.

The object thus became a symbol of emancipation and technical sophistication, embodying the modern, cosmopolitan woman.

Since its creation, the Zip has seen rare reissues (in the 2000s in particular), each one requiring over 800 hours of work and precision in the order of a tenth of a millimeter. Today, most of these pieces are kept in private collections.

Today, the Zip is considered by design historians to be an icon of transformable jewelry, comparable to a feat of jewelry engineering. It has been featured in several international exhibitions (Van Cleef & Arpels: L'Art de la Haute Joaillerie, les Arts Décoratifs, 2012 / Set in Style, Cooper Hewitt Museum, 2011).

It is now recognized as a pivotal piece in the history of modern jewelry. The story of the Zip thus illustrates the fusion of technical genius and aristocratic taste, and stands out as a model of continuity between innovation, craftsmanship and the feminine narrative of luxury in the twentieth century.

Recognizing a piece of Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry

The counterfeit market is increasingly strong in manufacturing all kinds of dupes, including luxury jewelry pieces. On online platforms, the resale of these items is steadily increasing, and many customers are being tricked.

Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry is necessarily signed and hallmarked, even if it's a collaboration with other independent designers such as Suzanne Belperron.

This is why, even if techniques exist to recognize a real Van Cleef & Arpels jewel, notably looking at the signature (which can incidentally be counterfeit), it is essential if you think you own Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry to have it appraised in order to date it and be sure of its authenticity.

Each Zip piece is stamped with the VCA mark (or geolocated depending on the model) and bears a serial number as well as a precious metal hallmark. The fine adjustment of the motifs, the alignment of the stones and the regularity of the mechanism are subject to the most rigorous controls.

Know the certain value of your jewelry  

If you happen to own a Van Cleef & Arpels piece of jewelry, or think you might, don't hesitate to request a free appraisal using our form on our website.

A member of our team of experts and licensed auctioneers will contact you promptly to provide you with an estimate of the market value of your scarf, as well as any relevant information about it.

If you wish to sell your work, our specialists will also be on hand to offer you alternatives for selling it at the best possible price, taking into account market inclinations.