Maison dinh van announces with infinite sadness the passing of its founder, Jean Dinh Van. In 1965, Jean Dinh Van founded an unexpected jewelry brand based on his instinct. He crafted jewelry that anyone could wear in any circumstance, regardless of location. His vision of universal jewelry remains a timeless source of inspiration for the brand.
Jean Dinh Van was born in 1927, the son of a Breton mother and a Vietnamese father, a lacquerer at Cartier. He studied drawing at the École des Arts Décoratifs and then blacksmithing at the École de Bijouterie de Paris. In 1950, he joined Cartier and stayed there for 8 years, first as an apprentice and then as a jewelry worker.
At the heart of the 1960s and its cultural and creative ferment, Jean Dinh Van drew inspiration from the ongoing revolution to emancipate the jeweleryAs industrialization changed the lines of fashion with the advent of ready-to-wear and mass-produced pieces, Jean Dinh Van wanted to take the jewels out of the vault and bring them to the street.
In 1965, a few years later, he opened his own workshop and founded his own company on Place Gaillon in Paris. His mission then… to create wearable jewelry. His clients don't wear them to prove anything, or to display a certain identity, but for them, it's an "irreplaceable carnal connection."
« I wanted to change the mindset that we only wear jewelry for holidays, birthdays, or the holidays. Jewelry should be part of who you are. If you don't have it, then you're missing something. " said Jean Dinh Van.
Jewelry sculptor
Jean Dinh Van, while other houses on Place Vendôme would not venture forth without preliminary sketches, starts with the material and sculpts his jewelry directly. He works gold instinctively, and intuition guides his hand until he achieves the perfect shape and thus materializes an ideal jewel.
This way of doing things quickly positions him as a atypical jeweler, deviating from the wise norms of Place Vendôme by drawing inspiration from everyday objects that it aims to sublimate. Purely functional objects, simple appearances (keys, locks, razor blades or even drawing pins) are transformed into precious motifs. Thus, in an iterative form, the work of creative artisans is highlighted through a series of prototypes with a sculptural appearance.
"You have to work your hands first, then work your heart and mind. I touched metal, and a passion was born: I love gold!" said Jean Dinh Van.
His first collaborations
Jean Dinh Van is immersed in the Parisian social network, having met countless personalities throughout his career: Pierre Cardin, Paco Rabanne, Jean Schlumberger, and the artist César. With Pierre Cardin, he designed a piece of jewelry that perfectly foreshadowed the "revolution in progress" of the 1970s: the Deux Perles ring, now on display at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Both masculine and feminine, the signet ring and ring is also the first creation to announce the creation of a long line of square-shaped jewelry. Like the balls of a Chinese abacus spinning on themselves, the two white and gray pearls on yellow gold recall yin and yang, like the interplay of emptiness and fullness.
With Paco Rabanne, he designed two silver handcuffs connected by the brand's signature square links. Finally, he will also present the work of his friend César... a breast-shaped jewel, in his gallery-boutique at 7 rue de la Paix in Paris.
Dinh Van Vocabulary
"These micro-planets of gold and silver condense beauty and energy, these are the dinh van jewels which resonate like artistic manifestos, inspired by everyday objects to better transform them, they are the unlikely children of surrealism and Dada, punk culture and the Place Vendôme" declares Bérénice Geoffroy-Schneiter.
His creations bridge the gap between the purity of origin and industrial aesthetics. Square rings, tubular rings, semicircular bracelets, pi discs with hollowed-out centers, and chains that stretch elongated links into narrow rectangles and combine endlessly to create this unique syntax.
In 1976, an icon was born: the Dinh Van handcuffs, also called handcuff clasps. For over forty years, the company has been undisputedly successful in adorning the necks, wrists and hands of men and women of all ages. Dinh Van handcuffs are a recognized icon.
Dinh Van's vocabulary is even broader: thumbtack-shaped cufflinks, openwork bracelets with padlocks, target-shaped pendants, 24K yellow gold Pi discs, square rings, and cubic pendants will continue to shake up jewelry habits. Minimalism, while remaining sensual, makes a huge difference between raw form and contemporary art. For fifty years, jewelry bearing the Dinh Van signature has transcended gender and era while remaining timeless. They bring art to life, breaking down the boundaries between design, sculpture, and architecture.
Jean Dinh Van created clan jewels, without distinction of sex or age. Without any cultural or historical reference, this jewel can be worn by men, women and children. It is shared more than it is inherited, marking a common adherence to modern aesthetics tending towards the universal.
André Tirlet
