Long committed to the transmission of jewelry professions and expertise, Van Cleef & Arpels launched in 2021 the de Mains en mains by Van Cleef & Arpels™ program, targeted towards young people, adults considering a career change and the general public.
36000
visitors since 2021
A Savoir-Faire Pathway, an exhibition, training courses, roundtables
310
participating employees
Bringing jewelry professions to the fore
Previous events
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Meet our craftsmen and discover the jewelry professions
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"My favorite activity was polishing. It seems to be a profession open to everyone, and I took pride in being the first in my group to finish polishing my piece."
Kévin, 7th gradeFine-tune your career plan and find your calling
Are you a middle or high school student thinking about your future? Discover the list of training programs available as of 9th grade.
Learn moreLooking to write the next chapter in your career? Explore programs designed for adults considering a career change.
Learn moreAre you a teacher? Download “de Mains en mains” teaching aids and discover how the initiative can benefit your students.
Learn moreJewelers shape jewelry pieces made from precious metal (gold or platinum), often adorned with stones.
The role of gem setters is to adorn jewelry pieces with stones, either precious (diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds), or ornamental (turquoise, lapis lazuli, onyx, etc.).
Equipped with expert knowledge of precious and ornamental stones, they purchase and select gemstones to breathe life into future creations.
These craftsmen carry out varied polishing procedures to bring out the full radiance of jewelry creations.
Lapidaries cut and polish stones, either precious (diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds), or ornamental (turquoise, lapis lazuli, onyx, etc.).
Van Cleef & Arpels was born in Paris, at 22 Place Vendôme, in 1906. Its founding resulted from the 1895 marriage of Alfred Van Cleef and Esther (known as Estelle) Arpels, both from families of jewelry merchants. The Maison’s sources of inspiration—including love, nature, couture and dance—open the gate to an enchanting universe.
Guided by excellence, Van Cleef & Arpels is distinguished for its gemstones selected according to the most stringent criteria, its expert savoir-faire and its taste for innovation, expressed throughout its High Jewelry, Jewelry and Watchmaking collections. Today, its style, embodied in numerous signatures such as the Mystery Set technique, the Minaudière, the Zip necklace and the Alhambra motif, continues to blend inventiveness and poetry.
A 7th “de Mains en mains” event will take place in Lyon in November 2026. The full program will be posted on our website as of September.
Creation of a piece of jewelry is a collective process involving close collaboration among some ten different professions. Each profession requires specific skills, and each plays an essential role in the production process. Below is a non-exhaustive list of the main jewelry professions:
• Designer: Creative professional who imagines new creations and depicts the associated shapes and colors in a gouache rendering.
• Stone Expert: Craftsman specialized in the identification and selection of precious or ornamental stones.
• Model maker: Starting from sketches, model makers create three-dimensional mock-ups of creations to better study their volumes.
• 3D designer: Starting from sketches, these creative professionals design a digital model of jewelry pieces.
• Caster: Casters turn wax models of jewelry creations into fully formed gold pieces.
• Jeweler: Craftsman specialized in manufacturing jewelry pieces in precious metal, often adorned with stones.
• Gem setter: Gem setters adorn jewelry pieces with precious or ornamental stones.
• Lapidary: Craftsman specialized in cutting and polishing precious and ornamental stones.
• Diamond cutter: Specialist in the art of cutting diamonds and shaping rough stones to bring out their full radiance.
• Polisher: These craftsmen bring out the full radiance of jewelry creations through polishing procedures.
