Dinh Van: The Invention of Modern Jewelry

A tribute to French jewelry designer Jean Dinh Van who, in 1965, created a brand that defied all expectations, with innovative pieces designed to be worn by all.

An iconoclast by nature, French jeweler Jean Dinh Van worked metal by hand like a sculptor, guided by his instinctive creative impulse. With a modernist vision, he designed jewelry imbued with style that could be worn with anything, anywhere, anytime. He took jewelry ＂into the streets＂ with models like the handcuff bracelet that transgressed and revolutionized the traditional codes of Paris’s famed high jewelry district, the Place Vendôme.

Dinh Van, the ＂geometer of jewelry,＂ placed shape and form at the center of his innovative style. Photographs of his iconic works reveal his distinctive vocabulary, from his predilection to the void to his sublimation of ordinary objects--razor blades, military ID tags, thumbtacks--to his interpretation of the rounded square or the chain link. His artistic flair led to collaborations with many artists and couture designers, including Pierre Cardin, Paco Rabanne, and Thierry Mugler.

Published to celebrate the brand’s sixtieth anniversary, this monograph recounts the history of the groundbreaking jewelry designer, his emblematic creations, and how Maison Dinh Van continues to draw inspiration from his legacy, adapting his revolutionary codes to the modern day.

Bérénice Geoffroy-Schneiter, a journalist and art historian, has published many books including Gold: The Impossible Collection (2022), Van Cleef & Arpels (2014), Asian Jewellery (2012), and Talk About Tribal Art (2013).