Van Cleef & Arpels : The School of Jewellery Art

L’Ecole Van Cleef & Arpels arrives this November to the Middle East to shed light on the hidden worlds of jewelry and watchmaking. The school of jewelry arts will be based at Hai d3, in the Dubai Design District, from the 7th to the 25th of November, 2017.

Dubai is a region where the decorative arts are treated with a lot of respect and appreciation, unlike many countries in the West, where they have lost much of their appeal, and where jewellery-making has been forgotten as an art form. Founded with the support of the Maison Van Cleef & Arpels in Paris in February 2012, L’ÉCOLE Van Cleef & Arpels is the world’s first school established for the general public to discover the savoir-faire, history and culture of fine jewelry and watchmaking. It has since travelled to Hong Kong, Tokyo and New York. This year, to celebrate its fifth anniversary, the institute will bring its watchmaking and jewellery-designing workshops to Dubai Design District (d3).

Some of the workshops conducted over the years include: Discovering the World of Gems; Make Your Own Treasure Chest; Amulets & Precious Symbols; and Trying out the Jeweler’s Techniques.

L’École Van Cleef & Arpels has had more than 16,000 students over the past five years, and its Dubai edition this November will be the school’s first foray into the Middle East. L’ÉCOLE will bring its expertise to Dubai through a series of dialogues: interactive classes, creative workshops for children, and evening conversations.

They will offer 13 adult classes around three broad themes: Savoir-Faire (know-how), Art History of Jewels, and The Universe of Gemstones. Each lasting for 2 to 4 hours, they are given by at least two professionals in their respective fields: jewelers, designers, mock-up makers, art historians, gemologist, watchmakers and a lacquer craftsman. These experts have an enthusiasm for sharing their knowledge and have all been trained to be excellent teachers. In keeping with the Year of Giving initiative by Sheikh Khalifa, President of the UAE, L’École Van Cleef & Arpels will donate course-registration funds to the Dubai Cares organisation.

The L’École Van Cleef & Arpels workshops will take place from November 7 to 25 at Hai d3. For more information, visit www.lecolevancleefarpels.com. Discover what it takes to make elegant, contemporary designer pieces with an internationally-renowned jewellery school.