Instead of throwing one large bash to commemorate the end of Van Cleef & Arpels’ centennial year, the jewelrymaker held a series of dinners that showcased its Trésors Révélés collection, vintage designs from the company’s archives. Communications manager Amanda Roth and assistant communications manager Devon McKee worked with David Beahm Designs to transform four venues across the country: New York City’s Harold Pratt House and Peterson Hall at the Council on Foreign Relations (on December 3), Laguna Beach’s Montage Resort and Spa (on January 4), the Beverly Hills Hotel (on January 17), and the Van Cleef & Arpels boutique in Palm Beach (on January 30). “We decided to make it a multicity event because we have boutiques in six locations in the U.S., with a strong client base in each, and we wanted to present the collection to as many clients as possible,” Roth said.Because much of the jewelry being showcased was from the 1920’s, Roth envisioned Art Deco-style dinners with a modern feel. Working with dramatic black draping and a color palette of gray and sage green (Van Cleef & Arpels’ signature hue), Beahm created an elegant yet subdued stage for the focus of the event—a plethora of vibrant, sparking stones. “The decor had to be luxurious, but in no way could it show up the jewelry,” Beahm said.
At each of the locations, about 100 guests (mainly the company’s top clients) dined on entrées like red wine-braised short ribs (from New York’s Feast & Fetes) and glazed duck breast with duck confit (from Palm Beach caterer Christafaro’s), while models paraded around the room decked out in 100 (a nod to the centennial) hand-selected pieces of jewelry. But the highlight came at the end of the evening, when guests were invited to take a closer look at the pieces and even try them on. (Mirrors were provided, of course.) “All the dinners required a tremendous amount of security,” Beahm said. “As the models walked out, each piece was counted, and then recounted when they came back. We had 12 people on duty at each event because every door had to be covered.”
Lighting was also key, to add drama to the evening as well as highlight the brilliance of each piece of jewelry. “Inside the dining room, the tables were lit by a combination of lavender-hued fixtures, to illuminate the centerpieces and the table surfaces when the jewelry was displayed,” said Pat Dignan, the lighting designer and technical coordinator at all of the events. In all of the venues except Palm Beach, fabric walls lining the dining rooms were backlit by multicolored LED fixtures. Working with Big Apple Production Services in New York and Images by Lighting in Beverly Hills, Dignan programmed a lighting cue sequence so that when an emerald appeared on screen, green lights behind the fabric flooded the dining room with the colors of the jewelry.
Although Van Cleef & Arpels’ centennial year is over, related events are still in progress. After Palm Beach, Beahm traveled to the company’s Bal Harbour boutique, where he gave the store the same look and feel as the dinners. The jewelry collection will make a final stop in the company’s Chicago boutique, which will be specially decorated until March 3.
—Lisa Cericola
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At each of the locations, about 100 guests (mainly the company’s top clients) dined on entrées like red wine-braised short ribs (from New York’s Feast & Fetes) and glazed duck breast with duck confit (from Palm Beach caterer Christafaro’s), while models paraded around the room decked out in 100 (a nod to the centennial) hand-selected pieces of jewelry. But the highlight came at the end of the evening, when guests were invited to take a closer look at the pieces and even try them on. (Mirrors were provided, of course.) “All the dinners required a tremendous amount of security,” Beahm said. “As the models walked out, each piece was counted, and then recounted when they came back. We had 12 people on duty at each event because every door had to be covered.”
Lighting was also key, to add drama to the evening as well as highlight the brilliance of each piece of jewelry. “Inside the dining room, the tables were lit by a combination of lavender-hued fixtures, to illuminate the centerpieces and the table surfaces when the jewelry was displayed,” said Pat Dignan, the lighting designer and technical coordinator at all of the events. In all of the venues except Palm Beach, fabric walls lining the dining rooms were backlit by multicolored LED fixtures. Working with Big Apple Production Services in New York and Images by Lighting in Beverly Hills, Dignan programmed a lighting cue sequence so that when an emerald appeared on screen, green lights behind the fabric flooded the dining room with the colors of the jewelry.
Although Van Cleef & Arpels’ centennial year is over, related events are still in progress. After Palm Beach, Beahm traveled to the company’s Bal Harbour boutique, where he gave the store the same look and feel as the dinners. The jewelry collection will make a final stop in the company’s Chicago boutique, which will be specially decorated until March 3.
—Lisa Cericola
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The jewelrymaker held elegant, invite-only dinners and store transformations in six cities.
Photo: Patrick McMullan LA
“I wanted the flowers to make a statement, but I didn’t want it to be too much, so I mainly chose shades of white,” David Beahm said of his dramatic arrangements, like this one from the Beverly Hills event.
Photo: Patrick McMullan LA
Beahm’s subtle gray and sage-green color palette allowed the vibrant jewelry to be the focus at all of the events, including the Laguna Beach dinner.
Photo: Patrick McMullan LA
Van Cleef & Arpels craftsmen like Jean-Francois Bibet (pictured) demonstrated the company’s jewelrymaking techniques in all of the cities except Palm Beach.
Photo: Lucien Capehart
Models, clad in custom-made dresses and lots of jewelry (shown here in New York), paraded around the dining room during dinner, displaying the 100-piece collection.
Photo: Patrick McMullan
At Harold Pratt House and Peterson Hall, fabric walls lining the dining rooms were backlit by multicolored LED fixtures.
For the final dinner, Beahm transformed Van Cleef & Arpels’ Palm Beach boutique into a dining room. “It required taking everything out and draping the walls with black velvet to make the guests feel like they weren’t in a store,” he said.
Photo: Lucien Capehart
