'dinh van, 60 years of freedom and creation', Exhibition at Christie's Paris from 3 to 13 September 2025

21 juillet 2025

'dinh van, 60 years of freedom and creation', Exhibition at Christie's Paris from 3 to 13 September 2025

Portrait of Jean Dinh Van by Edouard Boudat. Petite Boule ring in yellow gold, October 1968. Dinh Van Archive.

Paris - From 3 to 13 September, Christie's will be hosting a retrospective paying tribute to the jeweler Dinh Van on the occasion of the company he founded 60 years ago, curated by the jewellery historian Vanessa Cron. Bringing together heritage pieces, iconic jewels and archive documents, the exhibition will provide an opportunity to rediscover Jean Dinh Van's revolutionary creations. A pioneer in the exploration of shapes and metal, a sculptor and jeweler, a craftsman and an artist, he invented modern jewellery in the late 1960s, with clean, minimalist lines that met the expectations of a new generation of women and men.

The exhibition at Christie's will be complemented by the publication of Jewelry Sculptor by Bérénice Geoffroy-Schneiter, published by Editions Flammarion, while a film and two re-editions of emblematic pieces of jewellery complete the House's tribute to the iconoclastic, avant-garde vision of Jean Dinh Van (1927-2022).

Jean Dinh Van's creativity was in tune with his time, when fashion and jewellery complemented the movement of women's emancipation. In 1967, inspired by Pierre Cardin, Jean Dinh Van created the legendary 'Deux Perles' ring. At ease in the creative effervescence of the 1960s, he also collaborated with Paco Rabanne and the sculptor César, who was a close friend. Free, creative and unconventional, Jean Dinh Van's creations echoed the aspirations of a society in search of meaning and freedom.

At the Universal Exhibition in Montreal in 1967 Jan Dinh Van talent was spotted by Cartier, where he spent the next ten years overseeing Cartier's workshops in New York. Under his impetus, designer jewellery became an essential accessory of everyday life. His innovative creations were quickly noticed and his pieces, co-signed by Cartier and Dinh Van, were distributed throughout North America. Encouraged by this recognition, he opened his first own boutique on Madison Avenue in 1977, and since his creations have been included in many museum collections.