Some gold is worn; some gold is sculpted. Hancocks London has named a vintage Van Cleef & Arpels Olympia necklace, made in Paris around 1970 by the workshop of Georges Lenfant, as its November Jewel of the Month, with an asking price of £95,000, or roughly $127,000, JCK reports. Its broad oval links swell toward the front, and the three largest are paved with diamonds.
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At a glance
- The piece: a vintage Van Cleef & Arpels Olympia necklace in 18-karat yellow gold.
- Maker: the Paris workshop of Georges Lenfant, around 1970.
- Diamonds: 114 round brilliant-cut diamonds, about 3.42 carats in total, across the three central links.
- Size: 42.2 cm (16.6 in) long, 1.4 to 2 cm wide, 147 grams.
- Price: £95,000 (about $127,000) at Hancocks London at the time of writing.
What is the Van Cleef & Arpels Olympia necklace?
The necklace is a curb-link design of solid oval links that grow steadily larger from the back toward the center, according to the Hancocks listing. The three largest links at the front are pavé-set with 114 round brilliant-cut diamonds, with an estimated total weight of 3.42 carats. A tongue-and-box clasp is built into the back of the design, so the line of gold runs unbroken around the neck.
The weight tells its own story. At 147 grams, this is a substantial jewel, and the graduation from 1.4 to 2 centimeters gives it the presence of a collar without the stiffness of one. The necklace is signed Van Cleef & Arpels and carries French assay marks together with the maker’s mark of Georges Lenfant, details that matter as much as the design when a vintage piece changes hands.
Hancocks’ creative director, Amy Burton-Totton, told JCK that the jewel “has it all,” calling it timeless and wearable enough for casual dressing and glamorous evenings alike. She added that a vintage example carries “the hand of a workshop that helped define the period,” something a new piece cannot offer.
Who was Georges Lenfant? A short history
Much of the most admired French jewelry of the twentieth century was made not in the boutiques whose names it carries but in specialist Paris workshops that supplied the great houses. Lenfant was one of them. Hancocks says the workshop’s hallmark dates to 1909 and that its clients included Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels. The name is closely associated with supple, sculptural gold link work, the kind of piece in which the metal itself, rather than a large center stone, carries the design.
That is why collectors look for the Lenfant mark beside a maison’s signature. It points to a specific pair of hands and a specific era of Paris goldsmithing. In our view, it adds a second layer of lineage to a piece: the house that designed and sold it, and the workshop that gave it its weight and finish.
Why was gold so important to Van Cleef & Arpels in the 1970s?
Van Cleef & Arpels opened at 22 Place Vendôme in 1906, following the marriage of Alfred Van Cleef and Estelle Arpels, and the house became known for high jewelry with colored stones and inventive mechanisms. By the late 1960s and 1970s, fashion favored bolder day jewelry, and polished yellow gold took center stage across the Paris houses. Heavy, tactile links, often touched with diamonds rather than covered in them, suited a looser, more relaxed way of dressing.
The Olympia name has stayed with the maison. Van Cleef & Arpels still makes Olympia jewels, describing the collection as “an ode to femininity” and saying it revisits the house’s 1970s pieces of intertwined rings. The current yellow gold Olympia necklace is a far more diamond-heavy creation, with 1,911 diamonds totaling 33.95 carats in honeycomb openwork, and its price is not listed online. On the maison’s U.S. site, an Olympia bracelet is shown at $239,000 and earrings at $56,500 at the time of writing; confirm current prices with Van Cleef & Arpels.
In vintage gold, the maker’s mark is a signature of its own: the quiet lineage behind a famous name.
Why does vintage Van Cleef & Arpels gold draw collectors?
Hancocks says the original Olympia model has been discontinued and that collectors actively seek vintage examples. Part of the appeal is simple: a 1970s piece has a different character from its modern successor, with more gold and fewer diamonds, and it cannot be ordered new. Part of it is documentation. A signed, workshop-marked jewel with clear assay marks is easier to understand and, in our view, easier to live with than an unsigned piece in a similar style.
Vintage Van Cleef & Arpels has also been a steady presence in the salesroom this season, from the 16-carat Van Cleef ring at Sotheby’s Paris to the signed jewels in the Karpidas collection. For readers weighing a first piece from the house, our Van Cleef Alhambra price guide and our comparison of Cartier Love and Van Cleef Alhambra cover the boutique side of the story.
For the Collector
- Price and where to buy: £95,000 (about $127,000) at Hancocks London, reference 131055, at the time of writing. Confirm price, availability and shipping directly with Hancocks.
- What drives value: the Van Cleef & Arpels signature, the Lenfant maker’s mark, French assay marks, the gold weight (here 147 grams) and the condition of the links and clasp.
- What to check: ask for close photographs of every mark, a condition report on the hinge points and pavé, and any available archive or provenance paperwork.
- Fit: at 42.2 cm (16.6 in), the necklace sits at the base of the neck; graduated rigid-link pieces are rarely easy to lengthen, so measure before you buy.
- Resale: past prices do not predict future value. In our view, buy vintage gold because you will wear it.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the vintage Van Cleef Olympia necklace?
Hancocks London lists it at £95,000, or roughly $127,000, at the time of writing.
Who made the necklace?
It was made in Paris around 1970 by the workshop of Georges Lenfant for Van Cleef & Arpels, and it carries both the maison’s signature and Lenfant’s maker’s mark.
Does Van Cleef & Arpels still make the Olympia collection?
Yes. The maison still makes Olympia jewels, but the original 1970s model has been discontinued, according to Hancocks.
How many diamonds does it have?
It is set with 114 round brilliant-cut diamonds, about 3.42 carats in total, on its three central links.
Sources: JCK · Hancocks London · Van Cleef & Arpels, Olympia
