Editor’s Note
This article previews “Secrets de Bijoux,” a free exhibition in Paris (Nov 10-19) featuring 250 pieces from French houses. It offers insight into jewelry creation and wearability, coinciding with Chaumet’s retrospective of its 1965-1985 designs.
From November 10 to 19, the professional committee specializing in watchmaking, jewelry, and tableware unveils a free presentation centered on the world of precious jewelry. This offers an opportunity to learn more about creation, manufacturing, and wearability through 250 pieces from French houses.
While Chaumet is currently hosting the exhibition “A Golden Age: 1965-1985” focused on two decades of the brand’s creations, Francéclat, the professional committee for the economic development of Watchmaking, Jewelry, and Tableware, will offer a more general immersive journey into the heart of jewelry this coming November. After Lyon in 2018 and Bordeaux in 2019, the organization is setting up its “Secrets de Bijoux” presentation in the capital. More comprehensive than in previous years, the exhibition will bring together 250 pieces from French brands, ranging from gold to silver, diamonds, and precious stones, at the Réfectoire des Cordeliers in Paris’s 6th arrondissement.
The journey is structured around three themes. First, visitors will be invited to discover the creative phase of the jewelry, from inspiration to prototype. The presentation will then continue to the manufacturing stage. Immersed in design workshops, spectators will be able to appreciate the traditional gestures of the jeweler and additive manufacturing, namely the innovative process of 3D printing from gold powder. Finally, the “wearability” space of the exhibition will reveal a plethora of jewelry, from classic to more contemporary styles, with a focus on French hallmarks, gemology, and the history of each piece.
In addition to these spaces highlighting jewelry craftsmanship through an experiential, interactive, and educational concept, thanks to various digital media and archives, “Secrets de Bijoux” aims to captivate the attention of both young and old. Several workshops will be set up for children, such as a DIY art class where they can personalize pieces, and an augmented reality treasure hunt throughout the exhibition to virtually collect hidden jewels. For their part, adults will have the opportunity to upcycle a piece of jewelry in collaboration with the brand Anicet.
Francéclat also aims to inspire new vocations by organizing two conferences on gemology with an expert present, as well as guided tours with a jeweler and gemologist. An approach also taken by Van Cleef & Arpels in Lyon, which invites the public to go behind the scenes of the jewelry industry, which tends to recruit new talents, through the event “de Mains en mains”.
