【Paris, Franc】Catherine Renier Returns to Van Cleef & Arpels as CEO After Six Years Away

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Editor’s Note

Catherine Renier returns to Van Cleef & Arpels as CEO in 2024, bringing over 15 years of prior experience with the maison and a six-year tenure leading Jaeger-LeCoultre. Her appointment marks a homecoming for a seasoned leader in the luxury watch and jewellery world.

A Veteran Leader Returns

In 2024, Catherine Renier was appointed President and CEO of the Parisian jeweller and watchmaker, Van Cleef & Arpels. She is already a veteran of the brand, having first joined the company in 2003 and worked there in various globetrotting capacities for over 15 years. This is also not her first stint as CEO; in 2018, she moved to the Swiss watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre and led it for six years.

Shared Foundations of Craftsmanship

While the two companies differ in character—Jaeger-LeCoultre being rooted in Swiss precision and Van Cleef & Arpels in Parisian romance—Renier highlights their common ground in guiding principles.

“Both maisons have a very similar ground in their love for heritage, deep respect for their past, and a very humble creativity—but also [a protectiveness] of craftsmanship,” Renier explains.

She notes that much of her work at Jaeger-LeCoultre involved nurturing and preserving its crafts and traditions, ensuring they were shared with the public. “This is definitely also Van Cleef & Arpels’ mission—protecting craftsmanship in watchmaking and jewellery. It’s an extremely important development for the sustainable future of the maison.” She cites the brand’s enamelling department and its dedicated school for training new artisans as a key example.

“It’s these important decisions and investments that are very meaningful and significant to me,” Renier says.
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Assembling jewellery on the latest collection. Photo by Van Cleef & Arpels
Returning to a Consistent Creative Universe

On her return after six years, Renier expresses delight at the brand’s consistent creative direction.

“I’m very delighted to see how the maison has, despite its development and expansion, such a similar approach to its inspiration,” she says. “It’s been very true to its origins—to its development of rare handcrafts, and to its very creative expressions within jewellery and watchmaking. I feel very much like coming home, to a maison that I know very well, and that has kept very close to its identity.”

Core to this identity is the brand’s fanciful and consistent universe of inspiration, featuring nature, faeries, butterflies, and romance, as seen in collections like the new “Treasure Island” high jewellery line.

“It’s a strong and full universe of inspiration, and very consistent through the years. That’s definitely a strength,” Renier says. “Owning this universe, knowing who we are, is a strength.”
Commitment to Craftsmanship and Innovation

Renier emphasizes the brand’s dual commitment to exceptional craftsmanship and continuous innovation.

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“We always try for more. Our pieces are amazing in the front, but also at the back. And this is a very important element, where we go above and beyond what is necessary in making the perfect finish, the perfect polish, (even in) hidden places,” Renier says.

She points to the patented Mystery Set gem-setting technique from 1933 as an example, noting that the brand continues to innovate with new applications, techniques, colours, and stones.

“This approach to craftsmanship, respecting the past, transmitting it, but also always taking it a step further, is very much deeply rooted in our ways.”
A Future Focused on Enchantment

Looking ahead, Renier’s vision for Van Cleef & Arpels is to continue captivating audiences with creativity and emotion.

“I definitely see ‘love in the air’ with our creations,” Renier continues. “I want that the maison continues to enchant. It is important for us that our creativity, and the emotion we want to bring with our creations, is seen and appreciated. It’s a very busy world, so we need to always get further in creativity and to surprise, stretching our universe and our innovation in craftsmanship in order to get the attention of the public. This is what we will continue to do.”
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⏰ Published on: March 28, 2025