A major exhibition dedicated to Van Cleef & Arpels is in Tokyo.
The symbol of the Far East meets one of the symbols of the Deep West: a noble Japanese family and Van Cleef & Arpels. An unexpected liaison that is now revived in a major exhibition in Tokyo: Timeless Art Deco with Van Cleef & Arpels High Jewelry (until January 18th at the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum). It also marks a closing of the circle, a story that began with the Asaka princes, who visited Paris in 1925 for the Exposition International des Arts Décoratif. An experience that inspired a renovation of the home, in an Art Deco style, the building that now houses the museum where the exhibition is being held.
The princely residence, remodeled according to the dictates of the new Parisian style, then the pinnacle of modernity, seems the perfect space to showcase the array of 250 historic pieces from the equally historic Parisian Maison. The jewels are part of the Van Cleef & Arpels Heritage Collection, the historical archive that bears witness to the French brand’s goldsmithing virtuosity. The marriage between Van Cleef & Arpels and Art Deco is inseparable, as are certain techniques such as Secret Setting or Serti Mystérieux, a system for setting small precious stones without revealing metal prongs, an invention that boasts (so to speak) countless attempts at imitation.
Many of the pieces on display have exceptional value, not only financially but also historically, for the applied arts. The poster, for example, highlights the diamond, ruby, and emerald bracelet with a floral design of intertwined red and white roses. Not to mention another of Van Cleef & Arpels’s inventions, the zip necklace, or transformable jewelry, such as the platinum and diamond brooch that can be worn as a choker, a pendant for a necklace, or a bracelet.
