Maison Van Cleef & Arpels

Jouin Manku designed a Parisian showcase for luxury jewellers Van Cleef & Arpels at 20 Place Vendôme, Paris.
We draw on traditional skills and cutting-edge technology for our take on a typically Parisian interior, inspired by the Place Vendôme. The designers selected Paris limestone as their material, treating it as a master jeweller at Van Cleef & Arpels might: starting with a stone and working it up into a design, to bring out its poetry, movement, subtlety and finesse. Adjacent to Van Cleef & Arpels’ historic Place Vendôme address, renovated by Jouin Manku in 2006, 20 Place Vendôme poses a new creative challenge for us. Diving further into the fundamentals of a brand that they know well, our task was to deliver a new, unexpected interpretation that would both charm and deliver the wow factor so important to Van Cleef & Arpels.

Upon arrival, the visitor’s gaze is immediately drawn to the key architectural feature of the project, the staircase.This staircase sets the tone for this new project. A true tour de force, the stair’s technical workings are completely hidden, in just the same way that Van Cleef & Arpels’ famous serti mystérieux™ provides an invisible setting for precious stones. The staircase is made out of seven large blocks that are numerically milled, the structure is pierced down the middle and a cable suspended through the pierced stone lends the structure rigidity, like a spinal column. The handrail, meanwhile, gives the stair its presence: made in wrought-iron, another typically Parisian material, its design is inspired by the wings of a butterfly. Despite the solidity of the material, the structure has an incredible lightness. Delicacy and transparency, an impression of movement … these are the ideas that informed the design of this unique piece. The stair welcomes the visitor from their very first glimpse, its organic, generous shape inviting them to climb upstairs where they discover a sequence of salons reminiscent of a Parisian apartment. At the foot of the stair a tall oval display case with an elongated, cut-glass, domed cover plays with the light and the sparkle of jewels.

The principal idea guiding the design was to celebrate the resolutely Parisian features of the premises and create a soft, warmly welcoming space through which the visitor would move. The existing series of adjoining salons have been turned into themed spaces where pieces of jewellery can be displayed alongside the fascinating story of Van Cleef & Arpels, so that visitors can explore the company’s origins, history and creativity. 

Upstairs, to balance the mineral presence of the stone and wrought-iron, Patrick Jouin and Sanjit Manku have used a palette of colours from grey to beige, to a subtle eau de nil. Display cases and ceilings are decorated with a scattering of plant motifs carved in plaster or stone. The same design is embroidered on the fabrics that cover certain walls and ceilings, a reference to the natural forms that inspire Van Cleef & Arpels’ designs. The series of salons on this upper level align with the arched windows that give impressive views over the Place Vendôme and its column. The surrounds of these windows are decorated with a relief-work tangle of rustling leaves,filled with butterflies, birds and stars.

There is no better light than daylight for appreciating the purity of gemstones, making these salons the ideal private environment for presenting exceptional pieces of jewellery. Meanwhile Van Cleef & Arpels’ archives and historic collections are displayed in purpose-built cases. The elegant atmosphere is further enhanced by the furniture, also designed by Patrick Jouin and Sanjit Manku.

Just as Van Cleef & Arpels’ exceptional pieces can only be made by hand, so it is the combined efforts and skills of the teams engaged by Jouin Manku that have created this sensitive interior where stone is brought to life. With the help of new technologies, the specialist craftsmen have succeeded in meeting Jouin Manku’s design challenges – a genuine demonstration of the role designers play in the evolution of skills. The convergence of the designers’ vision with an exceptional level of craftsmanship has enabled the creation of a space that brings exquisite jewellery into a contemporary realm, with an unmistakeably Parisian identity.

The staircase is made out of seven large blocks that are numerically milled. the stair’s structure is pierced down the middle and a cable suspended through the pierced stone lends the structure rigidity, like a spinal column. The handrail, meanwhile, gives the stair its presence: made in wrought-iron, another typically Parisian material, its design is inspired by the wings of a butterfly. Despite the solidity of the material, the structure has an incredible lightness. Delicacy and transparency, an impression of movement … these are the ideas that informed the design of this unique piece.
The stair welcomes the visitor from their very first glimpse, its organic, generous shape inviting them to climb upstairs where they discover a sequence of salons reminiscent of a Parisian apartment. At the foot of the stair a tall oval display case with an elongated, cut-glass, domed cover plays with the light and the sparkle of jewels.