64 CULTURAL STUDIES

Jewellery photographer jung-hang kim captures the delicate beauty of Van Cleef & Arpels’ Heritage collection with an exclusive shoot at the Korea Furniture Museum

Van Cleef & Arpels’ Heritage collection

The Heritage collection comprises several hundred pieces from the Van Cleef & Arpels archive, each meticulously researched and restored

Aselection of vintage pieces produced from the 1920s to the 1990s, the Heritage collection comprises several hundred pieces from the Van Cleef & Arpels archive. Each item has been meticulously researched and restored before being presented to vintage jewellery collectors from around the world. To capture a handful of these rare objets d’art, the maison turned to photographer Jung-Hang Kim and his experience working with Korean artisans and the Korea Furniture Museum. The result, as seen on these pages, is a celebration of Van Cleef & Arpels’ craftsmanship as well as traditional Korean arts and culture.

Inspirations for the series include nature and longevity, as seen in the emerald turtle sitting atop a mountain of traditional Korean fabric, and poetry and positivity, as seen in the two colourful clips floating on a cloud of cotton spilling out of a Korean baby pillow, while rice, symbolising a family coming together over a meal, provides the perfect perch for a pair of birds that come to life in rubies, diamonds and emeralds.

From left: Flower clip, circa 1966, in white gold and platinum with marquise-cut, baguette-cut and round diamonds and round emeralds; Turtle clip, circa 1949, in white gold and platinum with one cabochon-cut emerald, ruby and diamonds; Flower clip, circa 1966, in white gold and platinum with marquise-cut, baguette-cut and round diamonds

This page: Birds clip, circa 1957, in yellow gold and platinum with cabochon-cut rubies, round emeralds, round diamonds and round rubies. Opposite page, from top: Angel clip, circa 1950, in yellow gold, white gold and platinum with rubies, sapphires and diamonds; Berlie clip, circa 1994, in yellow gold and platinum with round diamonds, sapphires and black enamel; Cheveux d’Ange necklace, circa 1957, in yellow gold and platinum with round diamonds; Meteores earrings, circa 1956, in yellow, pink and white gold and platinum with round diamonds