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A tribute to the sumptuous jewelry and the glamorous history of Van Cleef & ArpelsFor more than a century, the designs of the French jewelry house Van Cleef & Arpels have represented the marriage of an unrivaled sense of elegance with an extraordinary level of technical expertise and prowess. The comprehensive monograph Van Cleef & Arpels: The Art & Science of Gems is a glittering, gorgeous tribute to a century of luxurious, glamorous jewelry design and incomparable mastery of materials. Lavishly illustrated with meticulous photographs by Patrick Gries, the book's pages are filled with sparkling chalcedony, cornelian, rubies, emeralds and colored diamonds, beautifully set off and enhanced by the jeweler's designs (at alternate moments whimsical or understated, as the materials demand) .