There is a lovely audacity in taking a zipper seriously enough to make it into high jewelry. The teeth, the pull and the narrowing gap remain legible. We know what the object wants us to do. Van Cleef & Arpels makes that familiarity the beginning of the pleasure, then gives the mechanism an altogether different setting.
The house records the original Zip necklace in 1950, after years of development. Its transformation from open necklace to closed bracelet is a real change of use, not merely a decorative suggestion. The Alhambra makes its rhythm through repeated motifs; the Zip makes its rhythm through parts that have to cooperate.
A Paris jewelry window can give the eye a great deal to enjoy, but this piece also wants a demonstration. After-sales and repair work gives a useful perspective on such ingenuity: beautiful movement depends on exact relationships. The Bone cuff offers a quieter alternative, with the form doing its work without a mechanism.