How Van Cleef & Arpels’ L’école, School Of Jewelry Arts Is Bringing Jewellery Education To The World

“It’s fascinating to see the universality of jewellery. Despite our different backgrounds, we share the same emotional response when we stand before something truly exquisite, like a magnificent emerald. What is beautiful to a Malaysian is just as beautiful to a French person. In that sense, we are simply one human species,” says Olivier Segura, managing director and geologist at L’école Asia. Humanity’s fascination with jewellery spans millennia but, for most people, the admiration begins with its beauty, while its rich history, craftsmanship, and gemological significance remain to be discovered. Segura was speaking to Robb Report Malaysia during L’école, School of Jewelry Arts’ three-week nomadic school programme in Seoul, which we attended as a guest. Founded in 2012 with the support of Van Cleef & Arpels, L’école seeks to remove both the physical and metaphorical glass case that has long separated the public from the world of jewellery culture.

Up Close And Personal With Jewellery

Since its first permanent campus was established in Van Cleef & Arpels’ majestic 18th-century mansion on Place Vendôme, L’école quickly became a sought-after destination for enthusiasts globally. Here, one can deepen their understanding in the three main areas the school focuses on: the history of jewellery, the world of gemstones, and the savoir-faire of jewellery-making techniques.

L’école invites the public to explore the world of jewellery through courses, workshops, talks, exhibitions, publications, podcasts, and even the world’s first bookshop dedicated entirely to the jewellery arts.

L’école now has four permanent addresses: in Paris, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Dubai. The school also regularly travels abroad for talks, exhibitions, or travelling course programmes, which recently took to South Korea’s capital for the very first time—specifically to Futura Seoul, an art space in the city. Segura shares, “People all over the world are always drawn to jewellery, but here there is a particularly refined appreciation for craftsmanship and the artistry of things made by hand. In that respect, the level of understanding of Koreans is truly exceptional compared with many other countries. Perhaps it’s because Koreans have long been attuned to local craftsmanship, with a deep fascination for disciplines such as ceramics, woodworking, enamelwork, and mother-of-pearl lacquerware. This has allowed them to develop an attention to detail.”

Journey Of Discovery

The response in Seoul was remarkable: every place in the three-week programme was fully booked within just two days. Even children aged six and above were welcome through four dedicated workshops, which encourage curiosity and creativity from an early age.

I had the opportunity to take part in several courses at L’école. One of them, The Power of Jewellery: Amulets, Talismans, and Lucky Charms, explored how different moments in history, cultures, and belief systems have contributed to the inception of talismanic jewels. I was fascinated to learn that, in ancient China, the cicada symbolised resurrection and renewal, inspired by its remarkable life cycle of lying dormant underground for years before emerging to sing from the treetops. Another surprising takeaway was that jewellery ranks among humanity’s earliest forms of self-expression, with some of the oldest known ornaments predating many cave paintings. Rather than simply sitting through a lecture, I had the opportunity to observe fascinating jewellery pieces up close and work together in a group to categorise them into three different categories: nature, abstract, and calligraphy.

Miniature Masterpieces

Gouache Painting Courses At L’école

When reading about haute joaillerie, such as Van Cleef & Arpels’ inimitable collections, one is often told that hundreds of hours are poured into a single piece. With the savoir-faire courses, one gains an understanding of exactly why so much time is required. There were two courses dedicated to the art of gouache, which is an extremely detailed hand-painted rendering of a proposed high jewellery piece. This one-to-one scale painting serves to guide all craftsmen involved in its creation to determine the exact cut, carat, and position of the gemstones.

There are three pillars of gouache painting: light (creating volume through highlights and shadows), colour (layering paint to mimic gemstones or precious metals), and texture (depicting facets, prongs, and intricate metalwork). We found that these gouache paintings require meticulous work, approximately eight hours a day for up to four months (I tried painting straight lines and found that it was much harder than it looked). Gouache paintings are indispensable to Van Cleef & Arpels’ high jewellery process and are considered works of art in their own right.

More Courses At L’école

Coveted Treasures

One of the highlights of the programme was undoubtedly the ‘Garden of Emeralds – Discover the Gemstones’ exhibition. I peered at raw gemstones as I learned about the family tree of beryls, as well as the evolution of the hypnotic green gems from geological formation to high jewellery.

There were several dazzling pieces on display, including a Hindu necklace, commissioned by Sita Devi, Maharani of Baroda, and designed by Jacques Arpels. Created in 1949, the spectacular piece dazzles with more than 220 carats of emeralds. The finest stones from the then royal treasury were selected for the necklace, including 13 pear-shaped emeralds sourced from ancient Colombian mines.

Perhaps one of L’école’s most admirable qualities is its unwavering commitment to jewellery education, never allowing itself to become a marketing vehicle for Van Cleef & Arpels. The exhibition reflected this ethos, bringing together remarkable creations from a distinguished roster of lenders, including the Cartier Collection, the Faerber Collection, and the Boucheron Private Collection. The result was an exhibition that celebrated the richness of jewellery history in all its diversity, rather than the legacy of a single maison.

Passing On Precious Knowledge

We spoke to Segura to find out more about L’école’s mission, whose enthusiasm for gemstones is immediately apparent: “When I reached a turning point in my career, joining L’école felt like the natural choice. I believe its mission is exceptional not only because we share knowledge, but because we continually reinterpret, expand, and generate new knowledge around jewellery. That’s something truly unique in our industry.”

Segura is exceptionally well-suited to the role. A certified gemologist, he holds qualifications from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and the University of Nantes (DUG), and previously served as Director of the French Gemological Laboratory, the world’s first gemological institution, founded in 1929. Years of fieldwork in celebrated gem-producing regions such as Thailand and Myanmar have only deepened his expertise.

“For a long time, jewellery was seen primarily as craftsmanship rather than an art form. Paintings, sculptures, and architecture were considered art, but not jewellery. That perception is finally changing. At L’école, we hope to broaden the conversation through academic research, museum partnerships, and more. Today, the boundaries between art and craft are becoming increasingly fluid, and people are beginning to recognise jewellery as a true art form.”

Segura shares that approximately 18 months are required to make preparations for their nomadic schools. “It requires a lot of coordination as we fly in teachers from different countries, including our Hong Kong campus, France, China, and more.     

“We have a calendar for the next 10 years for new exhibitions, courses, and new research programmes we want to develop. For instance, L’école’s Hong Kong campus will partner with a local university next year, and we will support a PhD student to work on a very specific research topic. I would also like to partner with universities in Singapore and Australia in the future.”

Looking forward, Segura says, “We have a lot of good partners and projects to develop in Singapore. I’m pleased to share that L’école will be present in Singapore very soon.” As L’école continues to travel the world, its greatest gem may not be the extraordinary jewels it showcases, but the curiosity it inspires long after visitors leave.

Van Cleef & Arpels | L’école, School of Jewelry Arts’

Photos: Pauline de Courrèges, L’école, School of Jewelry Arts