An artistic journey

Beneath the studio’s glass ceiling, the work of Gustave Eiffel, Maya wanders among Greek statues, pausing here and there. Graceful, elusive, lost in her thoughts. The necklaces at her throat are like suns. The high jewelry creations on her wrists, on her hands, next to her heart, sparkle with almost preternatural radiance. Captured in the first days of summer, for our Trends section, by photographer Denis Boulze, with artistic director Benjamin Grillon and Cinq Étoiles Productions, she is a muse, leading us between worlds. What is revealed in the light of the studio resonates with jewelry’s very nature. Can jewelry be art? We truly believe it can. On every page of this issue, high jewelry creations invite us to question the traditional definition of art. When we gaze at these wonders of creativity, when we marvel at their technical excellence, when we imagine the thousands of hours given over to the creation of these unique pieces, surely we are in the realm of art? This would be a fitting tribute to the extraordinary craftsmen and women who cut, sculpt and assemble nuances of gems chosen from nature’s infinite palette. Jewelry is a collective endeavor which, in their hands, becomes a cultural object that bears witness to time past and time present. It recounts our lives and our desires. Van Cleef & Arpels is one of the most eloquent examples of this. For more than a century, it has accompanied fashions and evolved its techniques throughout changes in society, while never departing from its inherently poetic vision. Such constancy is rare. It reminds us how deeply memory and meaning are ingrained in jewelry, as you can experience in these pages—then and now, from Milan to Paris, from Geneva to New York. In this summer issue, we explore high jewelry by the great Italian houses. We travel to New York to meet MARLI who, ten years after its jewelry debut, is launching a collection of timepieces. All destinations on a journey defined by beauty. Should you feel the urge to discover new horizons this summer, you’re in the right place. Marie de Pimodan, editor-in-chief