Originally published in Shawati’ Issue 66

*The mission of L’ÉCOLE is to share jewellery culture with the widest possible audience, in Paris, and around the world. Image courtesy of VCA*

Upon entering Garden of Emeralds – the inaugural exhibition to mark the opening of L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Art’s newest permanent space in Dubai – visitors encounter a magnificent treasure called the Goliath Mineral. It is a huge specimen weighing 33 kilograms that was extracted from a mine in Zambia in 2010.The uncut mineral stone is filled with more than 100 raw emeralds protruding from its natural base that convey the journey of the treasured gems, straight from the heart of the planet.

“I had to begin with this piece,” said the exhibition curator Olivier Segura. “This is the start of the journey, the start of everything, here we can see clearly the beauty of Mother Earth.”

Segura, Gemologist, Scientific Director at L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts, founded in 2012 with the support of Van Cleef & Arpels, explained that he envisioned the show to take viewers on the journey to understand the significance of the emerald and to further appreciate its beauty. “My idea was to show the transformation from the extracted stone to the polished gem,” he said. “We include raw stones, jewellery pieces with various cuts, as well as sketches and designs. I wanted to pay attention to the details.”

Gemologist & Curator of L’ÉCOLE Middle East’s exhibition “Garden of Emeralds”, Oliver Segura giving Abdulla Belhoul, CEO of TECOM Group; Khadija Al Bastaki, Senior Vice President of d3 and Lise Macdonald, Global President of L’ÉCOLE a tour of the L’ÉCOLE Middle East campus. Image courtesy of VCA

The exhibition goes on to mention all the areas of the globe where emeralds are mined – from Norway to Columbia, Russia, the US, Italy and even Egypt – where the first ever emerald was found. Pharaoh Cleopatra was a renowned emerald enthusiast. Through the quality of the emerald available to the Ancient Egyptians were not up to the high standards we have come to expect today, they were treasured by Cleopatra, who often wore emerald jewellery and would gift the stones to dignitaries and nobility.

Among the standout pieces, which include a ring from the Roman era, is a necklace that was commissioned in 1949 by the Maharajah of Baroda and his second wife Sita Devi. She entrusted the jewellers from Van Cleef & Arpels with her own rough and cut stones and they designed for her an intricate and beautiful necklace made from 13-pear-shaped Colombian emeralds, 39 pearls and 1,310 diamonds. It is now one of the jewellery house’s flagship creations.

There is also a spotlight on Art Deco objects such as the 1929 Faiza Necklace which was purchased by Princess Faiza of Egypt [daughter of King Fouad] in 1947. It is made of nine polished emerald drops, hanging as pendants from their platinum and diamond collar with a tenth emerald drop at the back by the necklace clasp, adding a detail of stunning beauty. The pieces are accompanied by detailed gouache paintings from design house that date back over the past century and insightful videos showing the highly skilled craftsmen who dedicate painstaking hours to polishing and setting the stones.

The “Garden of Emeralds” exhibition introduces you to the enchanting world of emeralds, where you can discover their cultural significances to the stone’s scientific form. Image courtesy of VCAGreen

“The emerald is one of the most difficult stones to work with,” said Segura. “Other stones are more resilient, but the emerald is less so. You must use the perfect pressure to set the emerald. ”The exhibition moves on to investigate the colour green and its significance as a symbol of nature, financial and political power, religion, love, and chastity as well as its more sinister association with dragons or monsters. “We wanted to illustrate the depth of the colour and why the stone represents so many things to so many people,” said Segura. The exhibition ends with an interactive section where viewers can see an emerald up-close under a microscope and look for the inclusions, which are also known as gardens and from which the exhibition takes its name. There is also a library of books and an episode of the French cartoon Tin Tin that features a search for a famous emerald.

The emerald is one of the most difficult stones to work with, other stones are more resilient, but the emerald is less so. You must use the perfect pressure to set the emerald.

This strong focus on education is what defines L’ECOLE and its three fundamental pillars: the world of gemstones, savoir faire, and jewellery art history. The school, which has two permanent spaces in Paris, one in Hong Kong and one in Shanghai, is now in Dubai’s d3 district to host regular events for all ages.

L’ÉCOLE promotes jewellery culture through a rich programme of in-person courses and talks for beginners and collectors, along with free temporary exhibitions, publications, and research programmes. Its new Dubai campus is created by the renowned multidisciplinary French designer and interior architect, Constance Guisset.

Starting in Spring 2024, L’ÉCOLE will present hands-on workshops and insightful courses led by a rotating body of lecturers, including art historians, gemologists, jewellers, and craftspeople. Its courses will be open to all, for adults and children. Enthusiasts can also look forward to monthly online talks open to the public for free.

*[T-B] Dubai becomes L’ÉCOLE’s fourth permanent international location alongside Paris, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Image courtesy of VCA“*

“As one of the pillars of UAE vision is related to education, by providing high-quality content on the jewellery arts, we hope that our presence in the UAE will contribute to the destiny and visibility of the Emirates globally,” said Sophie Claudel, Director, L’ÉCOLE Middle East.

“The Middle East is unlike any other region in the world. Its way of developing quickly and in many fields as well as the ability to attract people from all over the world, lends a very special atmosphere to the region,” she continued. “We have plans to develop L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewellery Arts in several cities across the region, as we know that potential has no limits.”

She concluded by saying that the school places a large emphasis on research and has developed tools to support PhD students in research and publications, with plans to make this knowledge accessible to the public. She also suggested that the school could support Emirati and Middle Eastern jewellers to extend their practice, thus creating positive contributions to the creative ecosystem

For further information on courses, workshops, and exhibitions, visit the L’ÉCOLE Middle East website: https://www.lecolevancleefarpels.com/me/en

Beauty of the Treasured Green Gems: An Exhibition of Emeralds Opens L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelery Art's New Permanent Campus in Dubai