First by Van Cleef & Arpels, an Emblematic Perfume

If jewellers venturing into the world of perfumery seem self-evident to us today, the genesis of this practice is nonetheless not so distant.

While the very first to launch into this perfumed adventure was the jeweller Lacloche, in a bell-shaped bottle, the latter was very confidential and has today fallen into oblivion. On the other hand, First by Van Cleef & Arpels was in reality the very first jeweller’s perfume launched like a great perfume. Master Parfums takes you back to 1976 to discover this emblematic fragrance.

An Aftermath of Crisis

The year 1976 is a France gripped by a severe heatwave and, above all, in the aftermath of an oil shock in whose footsteps an economy in crisis followed. It is also the year when Place Vendôme saw a curious bud blossom: a product whose vocation was to play the role of a bridge between two worlds. On one side, there is the sparkling world of luxury. It is beautiful, it shines… and when it shines, it is expensive. On the other side, there is the French woman of the 1970s, whose purse and purchasing power had taken quite a hit. Never mind: on Place Vendôme, the jeweller Van Cleef & Arpels was preparing the reconciliation.

The House of Van Cleef & Arpels

The story of Van Cleef & Arpels begins in 1895 with the marriage of Alfred Van Cleef, son of a craftsman cutter of precious stones, and Estelle Arpels, daughter of a precious-stone merchant. The two lovebirds having always been immersed in the world of jewellery, it was quite naturally that Alfred partnered with his wife’s brothers to found, in 1906, the brand uniting their names. They established their quarters at number 22 Place Vendôme, a high place of Parisian elegance where the house is still found today.

Between 1926 and 1939, Van Cleef & Arpels affirmed its style when Renée Puissant, daughter of Alfred and Estelle, took over the artistic direction of the brand, accompanied by the designer René Sim Lacaze. It was during this period that emblematic pieces such as the Passe-Partout necklace or the precious Minaudière case were created. In 1933, the house patented the “serti mystérieux” (mystery setting), a technique of arranging precious stones without any metal claw being visible, a know-how that made its renown. The brand’s style, drawing on the aesthetics of the Belle Époque, became over the years increasingly prized by the high spheres of Paris.

In 1954, the house presented La Boutique, a collection of animal-shaped clips whose vocation was to offer creations at a more accessible price. Here was an initiative foreshadowing the events to come, because in 1976, Van Cleef & Arpels inaugurated what meant to be a luxury product within everyone’s reach, and surprise…: it is not a piece of jewellery!

First: The Shimmering Meeting Between Jewellery and the Fifth Sense

“I want it to smell like a jewel.” The tone is set by Claude Saujet, a veteran of the cosmetics company Orlane and at the head of the project, and from these words was born First (meaning “premier” in English), the very first fragrance of a jewellery house. A new type of adornment, more ephemeral, but no less sublime.

For the bottle of First, all in roundness, Jacques Llorente of the Ateliers Dinand found his inspiration in a Van Cleef & Arpels pendant. The curves of the cabochon and those of the bottle’s body echo each other, the latter revealing a gold-coloured juice. One must not forget that here, the jewel showcased is the amber liquid nestling at the heart of this Baccarat crystal case!

An Exuberant Composition

First belongs to the family of floral perfumes… and what a bouquet! To say that its fragrance is rich is almost an understatement, so much do the raw materials abound, almost overflow. Like a multifaceted diamond, First is an olfactory capsule brimming with more than 160 ingredients. It is Jean-Claude Ellena, then at the Givaudan perfumery school in Geneva, who signs this juice meaning to be the standard-bearer of luxury and with a devastating power of seduction. At only 28 years old, the man who would later be known as the composer of Hermès perfumes drew, according to him, “intuitively” on the spirit of the times.

The classicism of the aldehydes of a Chanel N°5 dresses itself in a crunchy opening of blackcurrant bud and mandarin. With anise and bergamot, these top notes breathe a green, crunchy air into a luxuriant bouquet. For First is above all a sumptuous floral heart of several varieties of rose and jasmine, of a creamy ylang-ylang, hyacinth, lily of the valley and narcissus. On the side of the base notes, an ambery, sensual, subtly animalic vanilla combines with the nobility of vetiver and sandalwood and with the enveloping warmth of musk and tonka bean.

Despite this avalanche of raw materials, First means to be an olfactory antidote to the ambient heaviness of the era: the propelling power of aldehydes combined with a coating of hedione, a molecule conferring transparency on floral accords, makes the bouquet airy. Jean-Claude Ellena delivers a perfume of overflowing sensuality, the embodiment of refinement and elegance. The perfumer would explain, moreover, that he used “everything that could express luxury.”

In the Wake of First

Since its release, First has never stopped reinventing itself through numerous re-editions: in a light alcohol-free water but also in an intense eau de parfum, by turns white, then black and gold for Christmas… The original fragrance has, for its part, definitively passed into posterity. A timeless floral explosion, then.

In 1976, its arrival on the olfactory landscape of the era left no one indifferent, and it took little time for other jewellers to follow in the footsteps of Van Cleef & Arpels and embark towards new perfumed adventures. We can notably cite Cartier with Must (1981), Boucheron and its eponymous Boucheron Femme (1988), or Chopard with Casmir (1992). Think of an essential jewellery brand, at random… There is a good chance that it has not only precious stones, but also a few liquid adornments to offer you. In short, if First was indeed the first, it was far from being the last.

The Pocket Quiz game is here to allow you to learn more about your favourite perfumes as well as the renowned brands of perfumery. So, what will be the next mythical fragrance you explore?

Banner photo credits: screenshot of the Van Cleef & Arpels website