Since its humble beginnings as a diamond merchant in turn of the century Paris, the house of Van Cleef & Arpels has steadily built a reputation for quality, originality, and luxury in the realm of jewelry, with many branches in the great centers of fashion. With the collaboration of the Arpels family and eminent representatives of the house, Sylvie Raulet has assembled a fascinating account of the firms's spectacular rise, evoking the personalities who contributed to its renown, offering and tantalizing glimpses of its wealthy, famous and eccentric clinetele, and allowing us insight into the jeweler's world. Winner of the Grand Prix at the 1925 Art exposition in Paris, creator of the minaudiere beauty kit mimicked widely by others houses, and inventor of the serti mysterieux, or invisible setting, which revoluntionized jewelry making, the house of Van Cleef & Arpels has always been a precursor in the art of jewelry. With an empire that extends throughout the world, Van Cleef & Arpels tempts women near and far into its famous 'Boutique.'