Van Cleef & Arpels The Spirit of Nature High Jewellery Exhibition at Design Days Dubai

French High Jewelry Maison Van Cleef & Arpels partners with Design Days Dubai for the fifth consecutive year. For this edition, the Maison pays homage to the theme of Nature. Renowned for its exceptional savoir-faire, the Maison presents The Spirit of Nature: a High Jewelry exhibition that brings together beautiful creations, combining refinement and elegance.

Design Days Dubai returns to The Venue in Downtown Dubai Burj Boulevard from 14th to 16th March with an exciting roster of new and returning exhibitors and record number of purchasable design from the region. It remains the Middle East and South Asia’s only collectible design fair and will showcase over 250 limited edition modern and contemporary design pieces from over 45 emerging galleries and talent along with talks and workshops until March 18th.

Reinforcing the art of Nature, Maison Van Cleef & Arpels uses exceptional stones in this creative selection of ultra-feminine jewelry and timepieces – whilst gracing a natural world which is fluid, constantly evolving, and perpetually renewed. The concept of Nature flourishes in precious creations from the Pierres de Caractère™ – Variations collection and the Seven Seas collection.

To highlight the Maison’s artistic style and rich patrimony, extraordinary stories are told through an array of Heritage jewels, and a rare selection of pieces from the Van Cleef & Arpels’ Collection, curated by Patrimony Director, Catherine Cariou.

The Heritage Collection

Founded in 1906 by Alfred Van Cleef and Estelle Arpels on the Place Vendôme in Paris, Van Cleef & Arpels has a long and storied history as one of the world’s most celebrated Maison. Ripe with creations inspired by Nature, the exhibition presents jewelry, watches, and precious accessories, as well as archive drawings and documents of the Place Vendôme High Jewelry Maison.

The Heritage collection gathers together vintage High Jewelry and Jewelry pieces created by Van Cleef & Arpels between the 1920s and the 1980s. Each of them has been the object of archive research to retrace their history and guarantee their

authenticity.

Pierres de Caractère – Variations

The Maison’s celebration of Nature’s gems in all its colors, shapes and forms. With the Pierres de Caractère – Variations collection, the Maison graces the beauty of stones, to their enchanting hues and the emotions they evoke. The pieces stand out as much for their rare gems as they do for their dazzling color combinations. Adopted by Van Cleef & Arpels in the 1960s and 1970s, these associations of materials today inspire daring harmonies. They represent new refinement in jewelry and virtuoso elegance; a harmony of boldness and excellence.

The collection is also a tribute to the travels undertaken by the Arpels brothers in Asia and India between the 1950s and the 1970s: during this time they acquired exceptional colored gems.

Seven Seas

Nature has been at the heart of the Maison since its origin, and is reflected in all its richness and diversity. The theme of the sea and its related legends offers the Maison an infinite source of inspiration.

Like a travel memoir, the Seven Seas collection brings together treasures and impressions, transposed into jewelry by the language of gems. In a cascade of blues, the distinctive sparkles of the Adriatic and the Mediterranean stand alongside those of the Caspian and Arabian Seas. The far reaches of the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean have inspired streams of light, while dazzling associations of materials evoke the Red and Black Seas.

The Mock-up Maker

Admirers of beauty are welcome to experience a Mock-up workshop during the exhibition, from 14th to 16th March. The mock-up is the first translation of the future jewel into three dimensions. The mock-up maker, working in close partnership with the designer and the workshops, studies the painting in gouache, and then translates it into an object made of pewter and paste stones.

Van Cleef & Arpels Emergent Designer Prize goes to Ranim Oruock’s lighting piece ‘Glow’

The creations showcased at the exhibition are accompanied by a unique product, created by a talented emerging designer who was carefully selected from all of the GCC through a competition in collaboration with Tashkeel and Design Days Dubai. Van Cleef & Arpels unveils the winner of the Middle East Emergent Designer Prize, in showcasing the final product which was created in the theme of Nature.

“The Spirit of Nature exhibition represents an unsurpassed craftsmanship, offering jewels and timepieces that tell stories and bring enchantment to life,” says Alessandro Maffi, Van Cleef & Arpels’ Managing Director Middle East and India. “Through this unique exhibition, guests can discover the imaginary world of Van Cleef & Arpels, always striving for excellence.”

Van Cleef & Arpels, in collaboration with Tashkeel and Design Days Dubai, today named designer Ranim Oruock as this year’s winner of the prestigious the ‘Middle East Emergent Designer Prize’ for her lighting piece ‘Glow’ now on display at the Van Cleef & Arpels booth throughout Design Days Dubai.

The design, which responded to the theme of Nature, was inspired by the effervescence of a school of jellyfish. With a dual function as a ceiling chandelier, or floor lamp, the piece ‘Glow’, takes the form and function from the sea creature combining the production methods of traditional glassblowing and advanced digital fabrication of 3D printing. Spheres made of 3D printed glass are fused using curved acrylic rods that mimic the form of jellyfish legs. Once lit, the transmission of light throughout the piece emphasizes the radiance emitted from a bloom of jellyfish.

Ranim received a prize of AED 30,000 to produce the final work and will also receive a 5-day trip to Paris to attend courses at the exclusive L’ECOLE Van Cleef & Arpels, a school created to showcase the mechanisms behind the world of making jewelry and watchmaking, courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels.

The prize for runner-up title was awarded to Michael Rice’s Ceramic Design Inspired by DNA Helix and Sand Ripples. Michael, who specializes in ceramics, is currently an Associate Professor of Studio Art at the American University of Dubai.