Heart and Scoul

Van Cleef & Arpels presents a rare opportunity to delve into its rich history, exploring intrinsic themes of time, nature and love through an exhibition in Seoul featuring more than 300 precious creations  

- Annabel Tan

Seoul is undoubtedly one of the hottest destinations today. Foremost a pop culture capital, the metropolitan city is constantly abuzz with trendy retail and café pop‑ups, and recently played host to major fashion shows and events.

From now until April 14, Van Cleef & Arpels is adding to the vibrancy of the city with its latest exhibition, Van Cleef & Arpels: Time, Nature, Love. Held in D Museum in the hip neighbourhood of Seongsu‑dong, the exhibition showcases more than 300 of the French luxury jeweller’s creations, including heritage jewellery, watches and other precious objects.

Tatler Singapore was one of the selected media invited to the South Korean capital to preview the exhibition last November, a few days before its official opening on the 18th. Curated by distinguished Italian scholar, curator and author Alba Cappellieri, the exhibition is spread across two floors of the museum.

Cappellieri, who is also the director of Politecnico di Milano’s master’s programme in jewellery and fashion accessories, is no stranger to the house of Van Cleef & Arpels. The jewellery expert was approached by the maison to curate its first Time, Nature, Love exhibition in Milan from 2019 to 2020, which later travelled to Shanghai in 2022 and Saudi Arabia in early 2023. For the current exhibition in Seoul, she worked with American architect and designer Johanna Grawunder, who was responsible for the scenography, and the Van Cleef & Arpels team, including its patrimony and exhibitions director Alexandrine Maviel‑Sonet.