The timeless elegance of Art Deco takes center stage at the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum with Timeless Art Deco with Van Cleef & Arpels High Jewelry, on view from September 27, 2025, to January 18, 2026. The exhibition celebrates the centenary of the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris — a defining moment that shaped the aesthetics of modernity itself.
Founded in 1906 at 22 Place Vendôme, Van Cleef & Arpels has, for over a century, enchanted the world with its poetic creativity and masterful craftsmanship. The Maison’s signature techniques, such as the Serti Mystérieux and its transformable jewels, have long blurred the boundaries between art, design, and engineering.
This exhibition brings together 250 high jewelry creations, timepieces, and precious objects, along with 60 archival documents, offering a captivating dialogue between history, artistry, and savoir-faire.
Art Deco as a Universal Language
The journey opens with the pieces that earned Van Cleef & Arpels the Grand Prix at the 1925 Paris Exhibition — including the exquisite Entwined Flowers, Red and White Roses bracelet (1924), an emblem of geometric floral refinement. The display continues with creations inspired by the East, such as the 1924 long necklace where the minimalist lines of Japanese ikebana meet the precision of Parisian design.
The second chapter explores the emergence of a sculptural jewelry language, characterized by volume and three-dimensionality. Highlights include the Collaret Necklace (1929) and a Brooch from 1927, both testaments to the Maison’s ability to merge geometry with grace.
Modernism and Functionality
By the 1930s, Van Cleef & Arpels had embraced the spirit of Modernism, marrying elegance with practicality. Among the icons of this period are the Camellia Minaudière (1938) — a luxurious golden vanity case designed to hold a woman’s evening essentials — and the ingenious Cadenas wristwatch (1935), whose padlock shape and discreetly angled dial epitomize bold sophistication.
The Garden of Savoir-Faire
The exhibition culminates in the museum’s annex with The Garden of Savoir-Faire, an homage to the craftsmanship that Van Cleef & Arpels continues to nurture today. Visitors encounter masterpieces such as the Chrysanthemum Clip (1937), showcasing the Maison’s patented Mystery Set technique, and the legendary Chantilly Zip Necklace (1952), which transforms seamlessly into a bracelet — a jewel that bridges haute joaillerie and haute couture.
An Architectural Dialogue
The setting itself, the former residence of Prince Asaka, built in 1933 and now home to the Teien Art Museum, is a jewel of Art Deco architecture. Designed by Henri Rapin with glasswork by René Lalique, the building offers an immersive experience where jewelry and architecture converse in the same elegant, modernist language.
Timeless Art Deco with Van Cleef & Arpels High Jewelry
Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum
September 27, 2025 – January 18, 2026
