Hi Huneybees,
Exploring the worlds of exquisite jewellery and their links to minerals, as Van Cleef & Arpels: The Art and Science of Gems exhibition premieres at Marina Bay Sands’ ArtScience Museum on April 23. Co-curated with ArtScience Museum, over 400 stunning creations from Van Cleef & Arpels and 250 minerals from the French National Museum of Natural History Collection will be on display.
A first for Van Cleef & Arpels, the exhibition will feature two complementing routes to showcase the intersection between the science of mineralogy and the art of jewellery making: one route unearths the evolution of minerals from the deep Earth to its surface, and the other presents the transformation of these minerals into precious works of art in the hands of the Maison’s best craftsmen, known as the “Mains d’Or™”.
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| Patrick Gries © Van Cleef & Arpels. Zip necklace transformable into a bracelet, 1954. Platinum, gold, rubies, diamonds. |
Documenting over 100 years of history, Van Cleef & Arpels: The Art and Science of Gems is the largest heritage exhibition of Van Cleef & Arpels, in collaboration with French National Museum of Natural History at L’École Van Cleef & Arpels' invitation. The stunning pieces of the exhibition are from the Maison’s archive collection, and also include pieces on loan from private collectors globally. Co-curated with ArtScience Museum, this is the first-of-its-kind exhibition that blends art, craft, history and geoscience with the elegance and style that characterises Van Cleef & Arpels’ rich heritage.
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| Patrick Gries © Van Cleef & Arpels. Spanish ballerina clip, 1941. Platinum, gold, rubies, emeralds, diamonds. |
The Singapore exhibition follows a series of seven defining themes: couture, abstractions, influences, precious objects, nature, ballerinas and fairies, and icons. In conjunction with these breath-taking creations are natural treasures and scientific artefacts from Minerals and Gems Collection of the French National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France.
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| Patrick Gries © Van Cleef & Arpels. Bird clip and pendant, 1971-1972 |
One of Van Cleef & Arpels’ most striking special orders is a flying bird carrying a briolette-cut yellow diamond of 96.62 carats. In the 1930s, this unique gem belonged to the opera singer and socialite Ganna Walska, who wore it as a pendant. In keeping with Van Cleef & Arpels’ tradition of transformability, the bird can also metamorphose into a pair of winged earrings and even a brooch, while the magnificent yellow diamond can be detached from the clip and worn alone as a pendant.
Tickets for the Van Cleef & Arpels: The Art and Science of Gems exhibition will be available on April 1 at all Marina Bay Sands box offices and website. Terms and conditions apply:
For more information, please visit www.marinabaysands.com/artsciencemuseum.
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