Van Cleef & Arpels (France, est. 1906), Manchette Cuff Bracelets, 1977, gold

Audio Description

This matching set of bracelets was designed and manufactured by French jewelry house Van Cleef & Arpels in 1977. Van Cleef & Arpels was established in 1906.

Made like long cuff bracelets, this matching pair has a surface of polished yet textured yellow gold. Amorphous, dimensional shapes decorate the surface. The edges are uneven.

Label Copy

This matching set of bracelets was designed and manufactured by French jewelry house Van Cleef & Arpels in 1977. Van Cleef & Arpels was established in 1906.

These large-scale cuff bracelets represent one of the many exotic themes that were a constant source of inspiration for Van Cleef & Arpels’s designers. Influenced by late Etruscan hammered and embossed work, these matching bracelets are simultaneously ancient and contemporary in feeling. Produced in a limited edition in the 1970s, the cuffs, made from seemingly rough gold, are polished to a high sheen. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis owned a pair of these bracelets and was photographed wearing them at various events, including in conversation with boxer Muhammad Ali. This pair is inscribed with a 1977 date.

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