VanCleefArpels

Best Jewelry Line
Each of the Readers' Choice nominees for Best Jewelry Line is a leader in the industry. One is not only known for its signature jewelry, but also for the blue box that it comes in. Another is known for its handcrafted pieces, but it is also known for its many innovations. Another nominee is a newer designer on the scene who is inspired by Florentine jewelry-making, but also astronomy, celestial, mythological and astrological influences. Another nominee is synonymous with glamour and fame and has ties to some of the world's most famous jewels. Finally, there's a nominee known for the panache of its founder, as well as its vast collection of the world's finest diamonds.
Graff Diamonds
Harry Winston
Temple St. Clair
Tiffany & Co.
Van Cleef & Arpels

Best Watch Line
The Readers' Choice for the Best Watch Line nominees include a perennially favored brand among the watch-loving elite that is known for making the most complex wrist watch in the world. Another nominee is known for its functionally-themed luxury sport watches. The third nominee, while an historic brand with almost 200 years of heritage, is known for being a forward focused luxury watch maker of the future. A fourth nominee is perhaps the best-known luxury watch brand in the world, with a stellar reputation to match. Lastly, there's a watchmaker that epitomizes Swiss haute horology with its modern classics and technical innovation.
Audemars Piguet
IWC
Jaeger-LeCoultre
Patek Philippe
Rolex

Best Leathergoods Line
The Readers' Choice for the Best Leathergoods Line for a Luxist Award include award-winning brands from France, Italy and London. One started out making equestrian equipment in 1837, and still makes its goods by hand; some of its handbags are so coveted, there's a two-year long wait list to buy one. Another was started in London by a former fashion editor who partnered with a couture shoe maker to create a company now synonymous with the "red carpet". The third nominee is known for its clean lines and simple classic color palettes while the fourth is a global force of tradition and innovation. And finally, the last nominee epitomizes luxury with its delectable designer bags and vaunted luggage--some of which command five figure prices.
Bottega Veneta
Gucci
Hermes
Jimmy Choo
Louis Vuitton

Best Department Store/Boutique
Nominees for Readers' Choice for Best Department Store/Boutique include one based in London that has no fewer than 330 different departments, a staff of 5,000 from 50 different countries and is visited by as many as 300,000 people on a single day. Another, with roots in Texas, is known for its superior customer service, in addition to its luxury merchandise, including some of the world's most extravagant items. One New York-based store has a shoe department that is so large, it was given its own zip code. Another Manhattan-based store specializes in hard-to-find international designers, many of which it will help launch into fame. Lastly, there's an upstart from London that is so cutting-edge and up-to-date, it launches 300 new styles on a weekly basis.
Barneys New York
Harrods
Neiman Marcus
Saks Fifth Avenue
Top Shop

Best Clothing Designer
Readers' Choice nominees for Best Clothing Designer are award-winning fashion designers from Italy, England, France and the United States. One was started by a wunderkind who was named chief designer of one of the most respected fashion houses when he was still in his 20's. Another has been one of the leading names in fashion for nearly 100 years. A third nominee, known for its timeless style, has outfitted First Ladies on both sides of the aisle for decades while the fourth is famed for its understated elegance. The final nominee is synonymous with high fashion though its roots are in luggage and leather goods.
Alexander McQueen
Chanel
Gucci
Oscar de la Renta
Prada

Van Cleef & Arpels, nominated for a Luxist Award for Best Jewelry Line, is known for its handcrafted fine custom pieces. The company was founded in 1906 on the famed Place Vendôme in Paris by Alfred Van Cleef and his brother-in-law, Charles Arpels. The company first opened its doors at the New York flagship in 1939 and has continued to expand to the world's most exclusive locations. For more than a century, the company has fused inspiration and technical prowess into beautiful creations.

Van Cleef & Arpels has long been known for striving to capture nature at its most beautiful. This is evident with several collections, such as the classic Snowflake Collection, as well as "Birds of Paradise", the new creative jewelry collection comprised of whimsical and figurative birds in flight and fancy.

The company is known for its many innovations and technical creativity in its storied ateliers, one of which is the Mystery Setting. The Mystery Setting is an exclusive and patented technique in which prongs are concealed beneath the gems they hold. The technique allows the creation of voluptuous, gem-encrusted, three-dimensional shapes that shimmer with simplicity and grace that allow the precious stones to take center stage. The process was introduced by Van Cleef & Arpels in 1933 and is still used in many of the jeweler's finest unique pieces.

Another innovation by Van Cleef & Arpels was the Minaudiere. In the 1930's, when Charles Arpels caught Florence Jay Gould slipping her lipstick into a white tin box, he was astonished that such a fashionable woman had nothing in which to store and carry her cosmetics. As a result, he invented this ultra-sophisticated version of the vanity case that allows the cosmopolitan woman to tuck away her lipstick, handkerchief and powder puff without being encumbered.

The company's Zipper necklace, which was first commissioned by the Duchess of Windsor, took over a decade to realize in its workshops. The necklace is one of Van Cleef & Arpels most iconic, innovative pieces. The necklace zips, literally, just as a zipper does.

Van Cleef & Arpels launched its famed Alhambra Collection in the late 1960's, reflecting the pop culture of the time. The Alhambra is still one of the company's signature lines and has since grown into a larger collection featuring a variety of precious stones, charms and variations while staying true to the original meaning of the clover motif. The iconic quatrefoil is the time-honored symbol of health, wealth, true love and luck, at once an embodiment of simplistic elegance. The Alhambra has become a most-desired addition to the jewel boxes of legends of the screen and stage, members of the royal set, exquisite tastemakers and jewelry lovers throughout the world.

Annually, Van Cleef & Arpels produces one to two collections of high jewelry, which are unique, one-of-a-kind pieces that are handmade in its workshops in either Paris or New York. These pieces, which are never to be replicated, are thematic, creative and romantic--always based on the idea of one of the founding blocks of the company: nature, fantasy, couture and the arts. Its most recent high jewelry collections include "California Rêverie", "Les Jardins", "Ballet Precieux", "L'Atlantide" and "Une journée à Paris".

In addition to its jewelry, the company has an extensive collection of timepieces and fragrances. Van Cleef & Arpels has two flagship boutiques: one in New York and the other in Paris. At 22, place Vendome, and since 1939 at 744 Fifth Avenue in New York in addition to select locations throughout the rest of the world.

Cast your vote for the Readers' Choice Awards at http://www.luxist.com/awards-vote/accessories-awards.

Gallery: More from Van Cleef & Arpels

Hong Kong's fall sales have been great for records, for Christie's in particular. After several were broken at the art auction this week, the gem scene was ignited. A pink diamond no larger than a chickpea went for $10.8 million, according to Bloomberg News. The stone had the second-highest rating available (potentially flawless) and a weight of 5 carats. It shattered the per-carat record set back in May. Back then, Hong Kong property investor Joseph Lau picked up a 7.03-carat blue diamond at an auction in Geneva for $10.5 million.

The pink diamond was sent under the gavel by Graff Diamonds, a London-based jeweler. The stone was sold to a phone bidder who beat out Liu Yiqian and his wife, Wang Wei. But, those two have bought enough already, right?

Overall, the 255 lots sold (an 89 percent sell rate) brought in HK$372 million, with the action pushed forward by mainland Chinese, a growing trend in the auction world this year. Donald May, a ruby and sapphire dealer based in Hong Kong, attended the auction and told Bloomberg, "There's a lot of mainland Chinese buying; either they didn't know what the items are worth or they wanted them so badly that price didn't matter." He believes that prices were pushed way out of control.

There were other records set in Hong Kong, as well. A sapphire weighing 16.65 carats, set by Van Cleef & Arpels, brought in HK$18.6 million, also setting a per-carat record.

On October 19th, Sotheby's will auction off a dazzling array of jewels, from a 29.53 carat flawless pear-shaped diamond ring to exquisite pieces designed by Van Cleef & Arpels, Bulgari, David Webb and Tiffany & Co. The sale, which will take place at Sotheby's New York headquarters, will feature jewels from private American collections, as well as a selection of high quality white diamonds and signed and period pieces.

The 29.53 carat pear-shaped diamond is the centerpiece of the auction. The D color, internally flawless stone has been recently determined to be both potentially flawless and type IIa by the Gemological Institute of America. The ring has an estimate of $1.8 million to $2.2 million or $61,000 per carat.

Another stunning piece is a fancy vivid yellow diamond ring by Tiffany & Co., which is set with a potentially flawless emerald-cut stone of 9.55 carats in a diamond crossover mounting. Its estimate is $250,000 to $350,000.

Also featured at the sale will be an 18 Karat gold, diamond and amethyst "Botticelli" necklace by Van Cleef & Arpels. Designed with a foliate motif, it has an estimate of $50,000 to $70,000.

A diamond butterfly brooch by Bulgari, which is set with over 24 carats of diamonds, has an estimate of $50,000 to $70,000, while a David Webb-designed abstract star-shaped Abalone Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Diamond and Emerald Brooch has an estimate of $20,000 to $30,000.

The jewels will be on exhibition at Sotheby's New York showroom beginning on October 14th, 2009. An online catalogue is available to preview at Sotheby's website.

Gallery: Sotheby's Jewelry Auction

"The day begins in the Tuileries, with a diamond, mandarin garnet, and tsavorite ring of overlapping leaves, not to mention bouquets of different kinds of flowers in various collections of astonishing gems of blooming beauty. The day continues through the Ile de la Cité (a diamond bracelet whose graceful arches pay homage to the arches of the Pont des Arts, which connects the island to the Louvre), the Avenue Montaigne (a diamond "cravat" necklace representing tradition, where the "tie" can be detached and worn as a bracelet), and the Paris Garnier Opera (a sapphire and diamond ballerina pin). The twinkling midnight fairy lights of the Eiffel Tower are represented by a necklace of yellow and white diamonds that flows down the neck with the same geometry as the structure, and the octagonal square of Place Vendome, by the art deco design of a Minaudiere in onyx and diamonds."