Designing Jewels

Catalogue of the exhibition Designing Jewels, presented at the Ecole des Arts Joailliers, Paris (14 October 2021 - 14 February 2022).

This book presents around a hundred drawings, mainly from the Van Cleef & Arpels Collection on Jewellery Culture, dating from the second half of the 18th century to the early 20th century.

For the first time, it sheds light on this little-known aspect of the decorative arts, in which anonymous craftsmen and artists rub shoulders with the great figures of jewellery, such as Tiffany, Lalique and Vever, and renowned workshops such as Paillet, Brédillard and Mellerio Borgnis.

Through the study of its technique, its creators and its use, the book accompanying the exhibition allows readers to grasp the challenges and richness of this medium, which is at once a tool, an archival document and a true work of art.