PARIS — Ask a design student when they think a Dinh Van jewel was made and the answer might surprise you.

“When I was a teacher at Geneva’s Haute École d’Art et de Design, my students all thought they were rather contemporary things, even other students’ works,” said jewelry historian Vanessa Cron.

It’s this perpetually of-the-now that she is putting front and center in her curation for “Dinh Van, 60 Years of Freedom and Creation,” a retrospective running Sept. 3 to 13 at Christie’s in Paris to mark the brand’s milestone anniversary.

Through some 90 pieces, drawn from the brand’s patrimonial collections but also on loan from private collectors, the display is about the rich history left behind by founder Jean Dinh Van, a singular jeweler who sculpted rather than sketched his designs.

Born in 1927 to a father who was a lacquer artist at Cartier, Dinh Van studied drawing at the École Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs and joined the French jeweler as an apprentice in 1950, where he eventually worked under Jeanne Toussaint. He opened his atelier and launched his own brand in 1965.

After selling the company in 1998 to investors, Dinh Van concentrated on unique furniture pieces, among other personal projects. He died in July 2022.

“His vision in 1965 was extremely avant-garde, he wanted jewelry to come out of bank vaults, for women to be able to buy their own jewels,” said Dinh Van’s managing director Astrid de Montlivault, who joined the jeweler in January. “At a time where everyone was looking to flora and fauna, he had a very specific vision and that’s what we wish to share and explain to the wider number.”

Exhibits will take a broad view at Dinh Van’s life and oeuvre, alighting on the designs that today bear his name, which span from handcuffs, locks or square links to the barriers around the Paris Opéra Garnier; the decade he spent creating cosigned pieces for Cartier New York, and his artistic friendships with Pierre Cardin, Paco Rabanne and sculptor César Baldaccini.

“There’s a whole slice of Dinh Van’s history that is overlooked and is extremely rich,” de Montlivault said. “It goes beyond the handcuff — and even knowing that this was inspired by two keychains linked together carries a message of freedom — and those are elements that we felt important to tell.”

For Cron, one unexpected hurdle to understanding the designer’s contribution is the continued popularity of his work.

“The jewels are extremely timeless,” she said. “Proof is that they continue to resonate today and that’s masked somewhat the avant-garde side of the house.

“If you think [one of his] designs was imagined five years ago, it’s a very nice design,” she continued. “But understanding it’s 60 years old gives it a whole other dimension.”  

Ahead of the exhibition, a two-minute film produced by Falabracks will debut on social platforms on Aug. 25. A 190-page book in French and English will be released by Flammarion, in conjunction with the opening.