Time, Nature, Love

Welcome to “Van Cleef & Arpels: Time, Nature, Love”- a presentation of the High Jewelry Maison’s universe at the D Museum in Seoul, Korea. The exhibition is organized into three themes that have been key to the Maison since it was founded in 1906: Time, Nature, and Love.

Professor and High Jewelry specialist Alba Cappellieri has chosen to highlight the links between these themes and the Maison’s creations, offering an innovative vision of Van Cleef & Arpels’ collections.

The Time section draws on Italian writer Italo Calvino’s reflections. In his book, Six Memos for the Next Millennium, Calvino developed several concepts for analyzing 20th century literature.

Since 1906, Nature has always been dear to the Maison. The Nature section in the exhibition highlights how Van Cleef & Arpels has combined expert craftsmanship with a sympathetic vision of fauna and flora.

The third and final section is dedicated to Love, which has been a major source of inspiration for the Maison, since it was founded after the wedding of Estelle Arpels and Alfred Van Cleef. The Love section displays creations imbued with emotion, including tokens of some legendary romances of the 20th century.

The exhibition showcases more than 300 jewels, timepieces, and precious objects from the Maison's patrimonial collection and also includes private loans. You will also discover archival documents, sketches, and gouache designs which illustrate the first steps in the creative process.

Let’s start our journey in Paris, where the Maison opened its first flagship boutique on place Vendome in 1906….