Polish your knowledge of gems with courses from Van Cleef & Arpels, De Beers and Gübelin
- With millennial consumers forgoing products in the quest for experiential luxury, jewellery brands are offering learning experiences through institutions like Van Cleef & Arpels’ L’Ecole, School of Jewelry Art
Visiting L’Ecole is a sensual experience. Upon checking in at reception, you are ushered into a lift that takes you to a multilevel studio, where you can take a class in the art history of jewellery at the former library of the Marquis de Segue, or join a gem-setting or polishing workshop (it’s harder than it looks). The more artistically inclined could experiment with Japanese urushi lacquer or gouache painting.
It’s no secret that experiential luxury is on the rise. According to a BCG report, nearly half of consumers – particularly millennials – say that they are forgoing products in favour of experiences. By 2022, experiential luxury is forecast to account for nearly two-thirds of the total luxury market.
For high jewellery brands, this means getting customers more involved. Whereas it might have been sufficient to proffer a bricks-and-mortar address and personalised customer service two decades ago, luxury jewellers like Van Cleef & Arpels, De Beers, Tiffany & Co and Gübelin have set up schools or workshops, allowing collectors an insight into the industry.
In 2012, Van Cleef & Arpels opened L’Ecole, School of Jewelry Art at one of Paris’ most coveted addresses, where it hosts classes and workshops, organises exhibitions and publishes books about jewellery arts. A second campus, the first outside Paris, is set to open in Hong Kong later this year.
While the school is supported by Van Cleef & Arpels, Elise Gonnet-Pon, managing director, L’Ecole Asia-Pacific, emphasises that the courses at L’Ecole are not “brand-focused”; instead, they pivot around three themes: savoir faire, the art history of jewellery and the universe of gemstones.
The gemstones course, which focuses on identifying different stones with a variety of gemological tools, is popular among connoisseurs who might be flying in for business and only have an afternoon to spare. The school also conducts nomadic courses in cities around the world, including Hong Kong.
Aside from offering its Paris courses, L’Ecole hosts evening conversations where local collectors are invited to share their experiences. Past speakers in Hong Kong include William Lim, Nicholas Bos, Edmond Chin and Nicholas Luchsinger.
