The jewels are to die for. Don’t bring your checkbook or credit card. These amazing pieces are not for sale.
Since opening its doors on the Place Vendome in Paris is 1906, Van Cleef & Arpels has designed jewelry for fashion icons all over the world. A new exhibit at the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, brings together more than 350 of the company’s most stunning designs, including jewels, timepieces, fashion accessories and objet d’art.
During World War II, Van Cleef & Arpels moved its operation to New York, continuing as a preeminent design firm with an international clientele. “As the nation’s design museum, Cooper-Hewitt is delighted to present the work of Van Cleff & Arpels,” said Bill Moggridge, director of the museum. “This is the first exhibition to approach the work of Van Cleef & Arpels from the perspective of a design museum and focus on the establishment of the design house in New York and the role of American style and taste in the market.”
The exhibition, created by French designer Patrick Jouin, makes good use of the Cooper-Hewitt’s elegant setting, paying special attention to the “memories of the past,” according to Jouin. “It’s a house where people were living; they were having dinner; they were sleeping; they were receiving friends,” he said. “I thought it was interesting to reconnect the design of the exhibition with the history of the building, because Van Cleef & Arpels also has a long history.”
Set in Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef is organized by six principal themes: Innovation, Transformation, Nature, Exoticism, Fashion, and Personalities. Here’s a summary and some of the highlights:
Innovation
Van Cleef & Arpels created the “mystery setting,” resulting in a finished piece that gives no indication of what holds the gems to their setting. A video adjacent to the glass cases demonstrates the painstaking process necessary for carefully cutting channels in the stones that are then slipped onto metal tracks. Up to 50 percent of each stone is lost during this process. Perhaps the most extraordinary example of this technique is the 1937 Peony brooch (photo top) with mystery-set rubies.
This section also includes the earliest known existing Van Cleef & Arpels object, circa 1908, the Varuna bell push for the butler, a minutely detailed model of a yacht on a sea of choppy-waved jasper. (Photo above).
Transformation
Versatility is the name of the game. What woman wouldn’t want a piece of jewelry that could be worn several different ways? And what better way to display these objects that under glass in the mansion’s dining room? We can imagine the sumptuous dinners that the Carnegies’ held with world leaders, around the dining room table. Now we see this table set with jewelry housed in glass bubble encasements that show off each piece to the best advantage.
The highlight in this room is the Walska brooch/pendant, reportedly given by a husband to his wife after the birth of their first child. Resembling a stork carrying a precious bundle (in this case, a 95 carat yellow diamond), this piece transforms itself in a variety of ways: the wings come off to form earrings, the tail comes off to form a brooch, and the pendant can be detached and worn independently.
Another technological innovation celebrated in the room is Van Cleef & Arpels’ “zip” jewelry, where a necklace can be zipped together to form a bracelet. No doubt this innovation proved a challenge. The Duchess of Windsor first proposed the idea of a piece of jewelry that zipped in the late 1930s. The piece was finally produced in 1951. (Photo, above)
Nature
Enter the museum’s breakfast room and feast on nature. Here you will find pieces inspired by birds, trees, insects, animals, and feathers. Particularly stunning is the snowflake brooch (photo, above).
Butterflies were a recurring nature theme and the exhibit shows these pieces off to great advantage. In addition to the Kikumakie brooch (above), the museum’s atrium includes a large glass dome with numerous butterfly pins suspended within.
Exoticism
The lure of Van Cleef & Arpels didn’t stop in the U.S. or Europe. Its clientele soon became international and these new clients inspired the company to produce exotic pieces. The exhibit features pieces designed for clients in India, Egypt, and China.
The Egyptomania of the 1920s, caused by the excavation of King Tut’s tomb in 1922, inspired a bracelet with a soaring bird rendered in emeralds, sapphires, and rubies. (Photo, above).
Fashion
Van Cleef & Arpels was always about more than just jewelry. Its accessories were always sought after, particularly the fitted-out clutch called the Minaudiere, containing compartments for a lady’s compact, lipstick, comb, mirror, cigarettes, and money. No room for cellphones, however. A wonderful selection of these bejeweled purses are on display, making one wish for days when carrying a purse meant carrying a work of art.
Personalities
So who wore the jewels and accessories designed by Van Cleef & Arpels? It’s a who’s who list of the trend setters in fashion, including Princess Grace of Monaco, Doris Duke, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor, Eva Peron, Marlene Dietrich, and many more.
Don’t miss the jewels worn by Princess Grace at her wedding, including a tiara (photo above), pendant earrings owned by Elizabeth Taylor, and jewelry worn by Marlene Dietrich in the Alfred Hitchcock film, Stage Fright.
Also on display are diamond and emerald cuffs owned by Daisy Fellowes. Try imaging those on a simple black cocktail dress. Gorgeous!
That’s the real thrill of this exhibit. Few of us could ever afford the pieces on display, yet Van Cleef & Arpels has influenced many other designers. You probably have pieces of costume jewelry in your own collection that had their inspiration from this company. And who would know if you pretend just for an evening, that you are wearing the real thing? We would never tell.
Set in Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels
Through June 5, 2011
Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt
2 East 91st Street
212-849-8400
Photos from top:
Peony brooch
Designed by Van Cleef & Arpels
Paris, France, 1937
Gold, platinum, diamonds, Mystery Set rubies
Van Cleef & Arpels Collection
Photo: Patrick Gries/Van Cleef & Arpels
Varuna ship-form bell push
Designed by Van Cleef & Arpels
Paris, France, ca. 1908
Yellow gold, silver, ebony, enamel, jasper
Van Cleef & Arpels Collection
Photo: Patrick Gries/Van Cleef & Arpels
Walska brooch/pendant. New York, NY, 1971.
Ywllow diamonds (briolette 95 carats), sapphires,
White diamonds, yellow gold. Courtesy of private collection.
Zip necklace/bracelet
Designed by Van Cleef & Arpels
Paris, France, 1952
Yellow gold, diamonds
California Collection
Photo: Tino Hammid
Snowflake brooch
Designed by Van Cleef & Arpels
Paris, France, 1948
Yellow gold, diamonds, platinum
Courtesy of Jean S. and Frederic A. Sharf
Photo: Tony Falcone
Kikumakie brooch
Designed by Van Cleef & Arpels
Paris, France, and Japan, 2004
Yellow gold, wood, lacquer, diamonds
Van Cleef & Arpels Collection
Photo: Patrick Gries/Van Cleef & Arpels
Egyptian bracelet
Designed by Van Cleef & Arpels
Paris, France, ca. 1924
Emeralds, rubies, sapphires, diamonds, platinum
Courtesy of Primavera Gallery, New York
Photo: David Behl
Volutes Minaudière
Designed by Van Cleef & Arpels
Paris, France, 1935
Yellow gold, black lacquer, diamonds
Van Cleef & Arpels Collection
Photo: Patrick Gries/Van Cleef & Arpels
Tiara worn by H.S.H. Princess Grace of Monaco
Designed by Van Cleef & Arpels
Paris, France, 1976
Gold, platinum, diamonds
Van Cleef & Arpels Collection
Photo: Patrick Gries/Van Cleef & Arpels
Manchette (cuff) bracelet/necklace owned by Daisy Fellowes
Designed by Van Cleef & Arpels
Paris, France, 1926 (bracelet), 1928 (second bracelet to form necklace)
Platinum, emeralds, diamonds
California Collection
Photo: Patrick Gries/Van Cleef & Arpels
