FLORENCE — Van Cleef & Arpels is strengthening its ties with Italy.
After opening a seasonal boutique in Capri last month, on Tuesday it officially unveiled its first store in Florence, adding to the locations in Milan and Rome.
Here, the French jewelry house has zeroed in on a location previously occupied by Valentino and housed inside a historical building in central Via de’ Tornabuoni, close to city landmarks such as the Ponte Vecchio bridge and Palazzo Strozzi.
“This was a project that took us a long time,” said the company’s president of Europe & CIS Stéphanie Rault. Mentioning that the idea to further develop the market traced back to 10 years ago, they eventually came across what she defined as the right location just two years ago and kickstarted the renovation works.
You May Also Like
Maintaining its original facade, the 2,798-square-foot space spans over two floors and builds on the interior concept of the other retail locations of the brand, marked by Art Deco-inspired furnishing, geometrical elements contrasting with delicate motifs inspired to nature and dark tones juxtaposed to green hues.
The store opens into an entrance hall decorated by a custom chandelier, with Murano glass lighting further punctuating the space. Adjoining rooms feature oak wood flooring and decorative panels with botanical themes, which serve as one of the Compagnie Financière Richemont-owned label’s key sources of inspiration. Bookshelves displaying publications and objects linked to Van Cleef & Arpels’ heritage are also recurring elements throughout the store.
Moving up a marble staircase, black lacquered wood and green quartz dominate the space, which offers different corners furnished with plush armchairs and sofas that convey an apartment-like feel. A bar and private salons for one-on-one appointments amplify the sophisticated yet cozy atmosphere instilled in the location.
“We were not in a rush to develop Italy. We wanted to have solid basis, first in Milan and then in Rome.…What we’ve learned in those two boutiques is obviously the strong attraction of Italy, that will always remain one of the main touristic destinations in the world,” Rault said. “But also the strong ties with the local clientele, which is very much familiar with the jewelry world. First because there are very famous jewelry brands, but also a tradition of crafts in this country, so there’s a lot of resonance with what we try to do,” she added.
This two-pronged attraction with tourists and local clientele has also marked the opening of the seasonal store in Capri, although Rault acknowledged the different mission of that outpost.
“We’re going to see our clients in another environment, a bit more chill, hence the boutique is different, too — a bit less institutional and a bit more relaxed,” she said of the 269-square-foot space previously occupied by fellow Richemont brand Buccellati and nestled in the island’s tony street Via Camerelle.
Operating from April to the end of October — covering the destination’s high season — the store reprises the botanical themes in an alcove-like setting, which still showcases Van Cleef & Arpels’ high jewelry, jewelry and watchmaking collections.
The Capri unit followed a successful test the company launched last year with a seasonal boutique opened in Bodrum, and Rault didn’t exclude the idea to replicate such a format in other Italian destinations in the future.
Asked about other retail plans for the market, she said that the next target would be Venice. “It’s been on the map for the past 10 years but then again it’s about finding the perfect location,” Rault said. “I’m not worried, I think it will come eventually. That’s the only city that we’re looking at for now.”
Rollout in Europe has taken an acceleration as of recently. This month the brand also unveiled a boutique in Zurich and plans to open two locations in Germany this year, to be followed by its first store in Madrid.
“Our focus is really to get closer to the local clientele, which we find interesting,” said Rault, listing also recent openings in Amsterdam and Wien, that took Van Cleef & Arpels’ store count in Europe to 25.
The brand is a pillar of Richemont’s money-spinning jewelry division, which also includes the likes of Cartier, Buccellati and Vhernier. As reported, sales of fine jewelry accelerated into the double-digits at the end of fiscal 2025 for the group, which in a challenging year for the luxury industry saw overall sales climb 4 percent to 21.4 billion euros.
In particular, Richemont’s jewelry sales grew 11 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with 9 percent consensus estimates and 8 percent growth in the full fiscal year. In the year, all regions grew in the double-digits with the exception of Asia-Pacific. Richemont said that direct-to-client transactions accounted for 84 percent of total jewelry sales.
“That says a lot about local clientele [in Europe]. They still have a strong appetite for jewelry,” said Rault, pointing to people acknowledging the intrinsic value of jewels and seeing them as investments and pieces that stand the test of time and can be passed down from a generation to another.
Rault underscored that Van Cleef & Arpels’ overall approach is to “being well balanced and not super investing in one region.” She highlighted that the brand has always had very strong ties with the U.S., has been in Japan since the ‘70s and in Hong Kong since the ‘80s, while it entered in China in 2006, “relatively late versus our competitors.”
“It takes a bit more time in Europe for obvious reasons linked to the real estate market, where there are longer leases and less movement,” she said. While France and the U.K. have been the brand’s historical markets, Rault sees potential in the likes of Portugal and Spain, in addition to Italy.
As she reiterated Italians’ passion for craftsmanship, she said that iconic lines of the brand, such as the Alhambra pieces hinged on the four-leaf clover symbol of luck, the Perlée range marked by beads of gold and the floral-themed Frivole collection, resonate particularly with the local clientele for expressing the brand’s expertise in daily, versatile jewelry with identifiable aesthetics.
Further highlighting the affinities between the market and the company, Rault said the firm is looking to enhance the engagement with the local community also by way of cultural initiatives implemented locally. She pointed as examples to the Van Cleef & Arpels: Time, Nature, Love” exhibition the brand staged at Palazzo Reale in Milan in 2019, as well as its involvement in the Homo Faber showcase in Venice, among other projects.
With the same spirit, it marked the Florence opening by staging the “Welcome to Van Cleef & Arpels’ world” exhibition in store.
Running until the end of July, the showcase spotlights a selection of pieces from the brand’s patrimonial collection with the goal to invite visitors to discover the inspirations, expertise and pioneering spirit behind its creations, their evolution through the years and the link to the house’s contemporary jewelry.
Key pieces included the 1956 “Picardie” zip necklace in yellow gold, rubies and diamonds that can be transformed into a bracelet and was first patented in 1938; the 1981 “Everest” necklace in platinum, yellow gold, sapphires and diamonds and defined by the house’s Mystery Set technique patented in 1933; the 1950 “Little dancer” clips expressing one of the recurrent inspirations of the company; the “Cadenas” 1944 wristwatch turning an ordinary object like a padlock into a precious creation in yellow gold, platinum and diamonds, and the “Flower” secret wristwatch of the following year, which comes with rubies and diamonds. Yet the star of the showcase was the 1953 “Daisy” gold minaudière designed with different compartments dedicated to hold specific items like a powder box, lipstick case, lighter or a comb.
