Founded at the turn of the 20th century, Van Cleef & Arpels was born from the marriage of Alfred Van Cleef and Estelle Arpels, who were united by their spirit for innovation and passion for precious gems. Van Cleef partnered with Arpels’ brothers to establish the maison in the heart of Place Vendôme, Paris, which at that time was burgeoning into a hallowed home of haute joaillerie and is now the epicentre of the fine-jewellery making world.

Brimming with creative vigour, the square attracted the industry’s uppermost echelons and patrons of the associated arts: dance, music, theatre and haute couture. Spurred on by this creative energy, Van Cleef & Arpels set itself apart
from rival maisons with its highly individual style – imbuing vivacious and kinetic rhythm into symphonies of rare gemstones and precious metals. Before long, this artisanry would garner its reputation as one of the finest high jewellery ateliers in the world.

In celebration of this signature savoir-faire, the maison will present The Art of Movement, Van Cleef & Arpels
from 23 September to 20 October, at London’s Design Museum, conjuring a world in which visitors can discover the
maison’s quest to impart dynamism into its designs. A curation showcasing almost a hundred creations from its patrimonial collection, the exhibition will serve as a microverse dedicated to lyrical jewels that practically dance out of
vitrines and sing upon the skin. Divided into four themes – Nature Alive, Dance, Elegance and Abstract Movements – each theme of the exhibition highlights a facet of movement explored by the maison in more than 100 years of high jewellery-making history.

Upon entering, visitors are welcomed by a graceful floating ribbon, which unfurls to usher them through each theme, beginning with the world of flora and fauna – a universe that has become synonymous with Van Cleef & Arpels. Like snapshots of the natural world, myriad animals, butterflies and fairies are captured mid-action, seemingly frozen in motion, upon decadent jewelled clips, necklaces and bracelets.

Here, the maison’s famous “flower clips” reign supreme. Having graced the gowns of elegant ladies since the early 1900s, this collection features some of the examples from the early 1940s, where each bloom full of volume and motion appeared freshly picked, followed by those from the 1960s, where novel uses of gold textures allowed the maison to reimagine these delicate emblems while retaining their compelling sense of movement.

Entering the world of dance, an important influence upon the house, visitors can admire balletic jewels that have become icons of 20th-century jewellery design. Making their debut in 1941, the maison’s first dance clips were
inspired by the ballet dancers of the Opéra Garnier, but a flurry of figurative designs has since played tribute to myriad styles of dance, including the foxtrot and French cancan.

The beauty of line and form is infused into each piece; every glittering tutu celebrates movement as a shared medium of expression for both jeweller and dancer.

The scenography of the exhibition itself conveys another great influence explored in this collection – the world of haute couture. Each showcase is constructed from elegantly pleated fabric, displaying magnificent parures that
dynamically transform to match different outfits and delicate creations that reference “passementerie”: elaborate couturier trimmings such as cords, bows and ribbons.

The maison’s “Zip necklace”, an avant-garde design that is able to transform into a bracelet through the use of an ingenious sliding tassel,  is widely considered to be one of the greatest fine jewellery achievements of the last century and is a must-see moment within this illustrious collection. Devotees of great jewellery design will also flock to see the maison’s “Mystery Set” technique, another famous signature, where hand-cut precious stones are placed one by one
into a system of gold rails to hide their mounting, allowing light to dance around each jewel and echoing the imperceptible stitches of an haute couture gown.

An exploration of Abstract and Op Art designs, meanwhile, introduces visitors to the maison’s Modernist inspirations, showcasing jewels, minaudières and objets d’art that create an array of playful illusions and tricks of the eye, with hypnotic and kinetic lines delivering the maison’s incomparable, unstoppable movement.

Expert curation of Van Cleef & Arpels’ secret timepieces further illustrates the importance of motion to the house, demonstrated by their transformable design and more literally with their mechanical movements, too.

Crucially, however, in each sphere it is possible to imagine every creation springing to life, thanks to the maison’s palpable volume, extraordinary gems and artful composition; each jewel serving as a manifesto to life’s vibrancy and the art of movement.

vancleefarpels.com; designmuseum.org