Claude Arpels Jr. is a French-American businessman, and investor who is the heir to the

Van Cleef & Arpels Van Cleef & Arpels is a French high-end luxury jewelry company. It was founded in 1896 by the Dutch diamond-cutter Alfred Van Cleef and his father-in-law Salomon Arpels in Paris. Their pieces often feature flowers, animals, and fairies, and hav ...

fortune. He also owned the Italian brands Borbonese and Alessandro Dell'Acqua.

Biography

Arpels was born to Claude Arpels, son of

Julien Arpels Julien Arpels (1884 – April 8, 1964) was a French American businessman who was the heir to the luxury jeweler Van Cleef & Arpels. He served as president of the firm during the early 20th century and was responsible for its international expansion ...

, who headed the American operations of

and helped the firm establish a presence on Fifth Avenue since 1939. At age 16, he was sent to

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by t ...

by his mother, Malou, to sell jewelry to the Sultan of Brunei and his family. In 1991, Arpels graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

with a bachelor's degree in history and comparative religions. He then joined the family firm upon the death of his father and the retirement of his uncle, Phillippe Arpels, who served as president of the firm from 1985 to 1991. Arpels departed the firm in 1993 and returned to investment banking, working in

Rothschild & Co Rothschild & Co is a multinational investment bank and financial services company, and the flagship of the Rothschild banking group controlled by the French and British branches of the Rothschild family. The banking business of the firm covers th ...

's corporate finance department, and earned his M.B.A. from Columbia Business School. In 1999, the family sold 80% of its stake in

Richemont Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A., commonly known as Richemont, is a Switzerland-based luxury goods holding company founded in 1988 by South African businessman Johann Rupert. Through its various subsidiaries, Richemont produces and sells j ...

and Fingen SpA, a Florentine holding company, and retained a 20% stake. Arpels returned to the firm to serve in management, tasked with restructuring the business. In 2003, he sold the remaining 20% of the shares and focused his business on

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, where he acquired the Redwall Group, a company that produces bags and accessories and owns Borbonese, a leather goods brand founded in Turin in 1910. He also bought 70% of Alessandro Dell'Acqua's eponymous fashion brand in 2003. In 2005, Arpels sold his company after failing to turn a profit. He was the executive producer for '' On_Line,'' an independent film directed by Jed Weintrob, and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2002. Arpels is currently an activist investor with Slow Money NYC, a company he founded that emphasizes patient capital and investing in local community as opposed to focusing on quarterly earnings and profit maximization. He also serves the president of the board of directors of the

International Contemporary Ensemble The International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) is a contemporary classical music ensemble, based in New York City and Chicago. ICE performs a diverse and extensive array of chamber, electro-acoustic, improvisatory, and multimedia works. History T ...

Personal life

Arpels is married to Winsome Brown, a British-born actress and writer. The couple has two children and lives in

Tribeca Tribeca (), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Stree ...

. Their loft, designed by Lee Mindel, has been a subject of many interior design and lifestyle magazines. It was also the venue for

Whole Foods Whole Foods Market IP, Inc., a subsidiary of Amazon, is an upscale American multinational supermarket chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, which sells products free from hydrogenated fats and artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. A US ...

CEO John Mackey's book launch party in 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arpels, Claude Living people Van Cleef & Arpels Columbia College (New York) alumni Columbia Business School alumni American people of French descent American fashion businesspeople American film producers Year of birth missing (living people)