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History in the making - Van Cleef & Arpels: Time, Nature, Love exhibition in Seoul

The worlds of fashion, art, romance and high jewellery collide at the Van Cleef & Arpels: Time, Nature, Love exhibition in Seoul

By Elizabeth Lee - 

D Museum van cleef & arpels exhibition
D Museum is located at the trendy Seongsu-dong district, where you'll find plenty of cool spots, pop-up boutiques and conceptual cafes Credit: Van Cleef & Arpels
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With stunning flagship stores that look more like museums than retail spaces, Seoul has worked its way up to becoming one of the best cities for art and fashion in recent years. It’s no surprise then, that when it came to choosing the next stop for the Van Cleef & Arpels: Time, Nature, Love exhibition, the French luxury house decided that the South Korean capital is where it’s at.

First presented in Milan in 2019, then Shanghai in 2022 and Saudi Arabia in early 2023, the Time, Nature, Love exhibition at the D Museum in Seoul showcases over 300 jewellery pieces, watches and special objects like vanity cases, clocks, lamps and more. Sourced from private collectors as well as from the Maison’s archives, this patrimonial presentation includes some never-seen-before pieces, including a remarkable Jarretière bracelet in platinum, rubies and diamonds that once belonged to famed actress Marlene Dietrich.

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Curated by Italian scholar and author Alba Cappellieri, the showcase is centered on three thematic sections. “I consider Time, Nature and Love to be the most important and most representative values of life and consequently of the objects that accompany our daily lives,” Alba explains. “Jewellery is always in balance between eternity and ephemeral, tradition and fashion, love and investment, beauty and concept, nature and fiction.”

“Van Cleef & Arpels has always had a strong focus on time [and] this exhibition will demonstrate its ability to represent a fragmented period like the 20th century and the capacity to epitomize the eternal values of beauty, and, at the same time, the fleeting power of seduction. Through the Maison’s creations, nature becomes art, in terms of gems and craftsmanship, but also as a humanistic attitude towards harmony.”

Spread over two floors, the Time section on the first level has ten highlights: Paris, the Elsewhere, Lightness, Quickness, Visibility, Exactitude, Multiplicity, Fashion, Dance and Architecture. In Nature, you’ll find Fauna, Botony and Flora, while Love unveils a space that houses both the masterpieces of the Maison, as well as a custom manga-inspired deconstructed chandelier by designer-artist Johanna Grawunder as the centrepiece that cast interesting shadows and light in the room.

There are a dizzying array of historical treasures to be discovered at every turn, but if you need ten good reasons why this exhibition should be on your must-visit list, here they are:

What: Arc de Triomphe powder case (1945)

Credit: Van Cleef & Arpels
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Where (to find it): Time – Paris
Why: After World War II, Van Cleef & Arpels paid tribute to Paris and its famous landmarks by creating a collection of clips, charm bracelets, and precious objects. This powder case in yellow gold and adorned with rubies, emeralds and diamonds depicts two figures strolling against down a street with the Arc de Triomphe, the famous monument that honours those who fought and died for France.

What: Necklace with yellow gold, emeralds, onyx, diamonds (1974)

Credit: Van Cleef & Arpels
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Where (to find it): Time – The Elsewhere
Why: Emblematic of the Maison’s love for travel, nature and different cultures, this necklace featuring a stylised head and body of a black panther wearing an emerald collar. The gold and onyx band surrounding the piece gives it flexibility, while the tip of the tail and ring of the panther’s mouth hides the opening and closing of the necklace.

What: Bird clip and Walska pendant (1971-1972)

Credit: Van Cleef & Arpels
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Where (to find it): Time – Visibility
Why: This impressive piece showcases a flying bird carrying a staggering 96.62-carat briolette-cut yellow diamond. One of the Maison’s special orders, it was once owned by socialite and opera singer Ganna Walska, who wore the gemstone as a pendant. Later on, it was auctioned off to a new owner who bought it for his wife in celebration of the birth of their son, and the piece was fashioned into a transformable creation that could be worn as a brooch, pendant or a pair of earrings.

What: Izmir necklace (2011)

Credit: Van Cleef & Arpels
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Where (to find it): Time – Visibility
Why: Part of Van Cleef & Arpels Bals de Légende High Jewelry collection, this creation was inspired by a soiree held in 1969 that French socialite Baron Alexis de Rédé, where the décor for the night drew from Middle Eastern tales One Thousand and One Nights. The onion-shaped domes of the buildings – dressed in various coloured gemstones – hark back to the palaces of the Ottoman empire, while the pièce de résistance, a 50.79-carat yellow sapphire, takes centre stage.

What: Wild Rose Minaudière (1938)

Credit: Van Cleef & Arpels
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Where (to find it): Time – Multiplicity
Why: This sleek box, no bigger than a paperback novel, houses a surprisingly many amount of things including a powder compact, lipstick case, notebook, lighter, comb, and two compact boxes set with the Maison’s signature Mystery Set rubies. Is it said that the creation of minaudières like this happened when co-founder Charles Arpels spotted one of his clients toss her accessories into a Lucky Strike cigarette tin.

What: Jarretière bracelet (1937)

Credit: Van Cleef & Arpels
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Where (to find it): Intersection – Couture
Why: For the first time, the iconic bracelet owned and worn by Marlene Dietrich is made available for public viewing. The actress was often photographed wearing with this disc-shaped bracelet with 73 cushion-cut rubies at events and even on set of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1950 film Stage Fright.

What: Art Deco nightlight (1930)

Credit: Van Cleef & Arpels
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Where (to find it): Intersection – Architecture
Why: For a house known for its watches and high jewellery, it might be surprising to some that the Maison has created plenty of precious objects over the decade. At the height of the Art Deco movement, this modernist lamp green lacquer, black onyx, and pink quartz was produced, alongside other decorative objects like ashtrays, cups, mirrors and more.

What: Five leaves clip (1967)

Credit: Van Cleef & Arpels
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Where (to find it): Nature
Why: Legendary Greek soprano Maria Callas loved Van Cleef & Arpels and would often visit the Maison at 22 Place Vendome. In her collection, the Five leaves clip is one of the most well-known. The brooch, which features six cushion-cut rubies framed by brilliant diamonds weighing 30 carats in total, accompanied the singer during her many performances at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris.

What: Dahlia clip (1956)

Credit: Van Cleef & Arpels
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Where (to find it): Nature
Why: In the 1950s, there was a burgeoning interest in naturalistic white jewellery as it was seen as being in vogue during the Belle Époque. A sugarloaf-cut emerald of 8.09 carats sits in the middle of this Dahlia clip, with diamond-encrusted petals that mimic the movements of a blossoming flower swaying in the wind.

What: Romeo and Juliet brooches (1951)

Credit: Van Cleef & Arpels
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Where (to find it): Love
Why: It’s a love story for the ages, and there are few romances quite like Romeo and Juliet’s. Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers are seen positioned in the famous scene: where Romeo is down on his knee, while Juliet gazes down from her balcony. Their silhouettes are crafted with yellow gold threads and ribbons and adorned in rubies, sapphires, emeralds and pearls.

D Museum is located at 83-21 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, South Korea. The Van Cleef & Arpels: Time, Nature, Love exhibition will run until 14 April 2024.

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