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Van Cleef & Arpels: Timeless Beauty

Since opening its first boutique on the Place Vendôme in Paris in 1906, Van Cleef & Arpels has played a pioneering role in the development of the art of jewelry design. Now, on the occasion of a major exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Shanghai, The Art of Beauty explores the history and the accomplishments of the firm through more than 400 of its most celebrated works. Loaned from the Van Cleef & Arpels museum and private collections worldwide, these works include classic timepieces, jewels, fashion accessories and objets d’art; the volume places particular emphasis on Van Cleef & Arpels’ Chinese inspirations. Among the many milestones of jewelry they have produced are the first watch with a leather strap (1923); the famous “Mystery Setting” technique, a paving procedure that uses no visible claws to contain the stone; the Zip necklace, which opens and closes like a zip (1950); and more recently, the Lotus “Between-the-Finger” ring (2001). Van Cleef & Arpels’ highly demanding gemmologists select only the most exceptional stones for the firm’s magnificent creations. With 280 full-color reproductions, The Art of Beauty celebrates Van Cleef & Arpels’ unrivalled excellence and its quest for perfect beauty.

Hardcover: 280 pages

Publisher: Editions Xavier Barral (July 31, 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 2365110010

ISBN-13: 978-2365110013

Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 1.2 x 13.1 inches

Shipping Weight: 4.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #1,290,035 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #429 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Antiques & Collectibles > Jewelry #1164 in Books > Arts & Photography > Fashion > History #1419 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Crafts & Hobbies > Jewelry & Beadwork > Jewelry

This is a beautiful exhibition catalog showing hundreds of beautiful VCA pieces. The objects illustrated show a wide selection of jewelry since the early 20th century till today, there are also some elegant modern timepieces.The text is brief and consists mainly of a couple of short chapters discussing some of the sources of inspiration influencing the illustrated collections. Also, each photo has captions documenting the materials used and the date of each piece. The photos here are the main attraction and the book is loaded with a spectacular collection of large fully colored photos revealing the beauty and immaculate craftsmanship of each piece. All the pieces are photographed against a black background and printed on high-quality paper.The overall quality of the book is remarkable and it would make a great addition to any fine jewelry and fashion collections.

Not The Best Van Cleef & Arpels Book Available e .....Unless you want to see photographs of purses, brooches, and watches - there aren't many big, spectacular pieces here. Most of the photographs are rather distant. There are a few gorgeous necklaces here and there. The best photographs and most stunning pieces are in the other big book by Vincent ?, showing the collections of aristocrats and multi-millionaires who accumulated major VC&A collectors.

This is the best VCA book so far.i have few of their books ,but this one is exeptional.The quality of the photography much better than the previous books also the pieces are more interesting.If you like jewelry than you must have this book.You will not regret.

Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. Begins with beautiful jeweler renditions and original photographs (with a small amount of description), and then has beautiful black-background studio photograph of each piece of jewelry. It seems to have come from an exhibit in China, but it's printed in English. Predominately made up of color photographs - and they are beautiful.

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