Van Cleef & Arpels

Van Cleef & Arpels started on Place Vendome in 1906 and is known above all for the Mystery Set, a way of holding stones that the house patented in 1933. Each stone is cut to slide onto hidden gold rails so no claws show, and the house says the technique is mastered by only a handful of its artisans, with up to eight hours of work to cut a single stone.

That focus on how a stone is held carries into the bridal range. The house describes a diamond selection run by its own Stone Department to its own specifications, on top of the usual grading. Engagement solitaires sit alongside a service that lets you compose your own setting, and the Zurich boutique is at Bahnhofstrasse 11.