A NEW CAMPUS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Encouraged by the success of its traveling school sessions organized in recent years in the Middle East, L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts has decided to firmly establish its presence in the region. In November, a permanent campus opens in Dubai at Dubai Design District (d3), a global creative ecosystem part of TECOM Group PJSC.

Founded in 2012 in Paris with the support of Van Cleef & Arpels, L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts spreads jewelry culture to the widest possible audience.
Open to all, from beginners and collectors to the simply curious and young people, L’ÉCOLE offers a rich program of online and in-person courses and talks, as well as free temporary exhibitions, publications and research projects.

The jewelry world is vast, fascinating and universal and this is exactly why L’ÉCOLE spreads its reach internationally. Established in France, today it boasts two permanent campuses in Paris: one in the Hôtel de Ségur, a stone’s throw from Place Vendôme – the historic center of the French jewelry industry; the second is to open its doors in the Hôtel de Mercy-Argenteau, one of the few 18th-century buildings preserved on the Grands Boulevards.
A campus was opened in Fall 2019 in Hong Kong, in the Western Kowloon district, facing the bay. 2023 will see the opening of two further campuses:
one in Shanghai in the Twin Villas, on Middle Huaihai Road – also known as the “ Oriental Champs Elysées ”; the other in Dubai.

Each year, L’ÉCOLE will host free temporary exhibitions, as part of its aim to spread the world of jewelry to as many people as possible. The inaugural exhibition dedicated to the emerald, “ Garden of Emeralds ”, will reveal the many secrets and mysteries of this gemstone to the public.

Emeralds, aquamarines, morganites and heliodors, all varieties of the large beryl gemstone family used in jewelry and appreciated by gem lovers. Their great diversity of colors, from the most vivid to the most subtle, offers designers and collectors a unique palette. However, emerald remains the most coveted, the most prized and certainly the most studied. Since ancient times, and as newer deposits have been discovered, emeralds have fueled the imagination and creation of jewelers. They have nurtured the symbolism that comes with the color green, first and foremost that of nature, but also of power, whether religious, military or social. Legend has it that the emperor Nero had emerald glasses specially made to soothe his eyes when he attended gladiator fights.

The “ Garden of Emeralds ” exhibition, part of the “ Discover the gemstones ” series, presents the research carried out by L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts on emeralds, with the aim of introducing as many people as possible to the scientific, cultural, artistic and technical aspects of this gem. The tour takes visitors from the depths of the earth, where the unlikely union of elements gives birth to emerald crystal, to the workshops, where it is shaped and
worked by expert hands to reveal its color, intensity and beauty. Lapidaries, designers, gem setters and jewelers all work together to create the most beautiful pieces of jewelry, and they all have a special relationship with emerald.

Nature, craftsmanship and symbolism form the three main sections of this exhibition, which brings together rough and cut specimens from the collections of the Mineralogy Museum Mines ParisTech, others from the collections of L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts, numerous pieces of jewelry symbolizing
emerald creation, thanks to loans from Van Cleef & Arpels and private collectors, and original gouache drawings that illustrate the full range of nuances of this gem, as well as the passion that people have had for it for over two thousand years.

The “ Garden of Emeralds ” exhibition, presented in Dubai, inaugurates the 4th permanent campus of L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts, after Paris, Hong Kong and Shanghai. With a presence in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts continues its mission of spreading jewelry culture to the widest possible audience, through courses, conferences, publications and exhibition.

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