Set in Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels

All photos: source

This past Sunday, one of the besties (Mrs. G) and I took advantage of the absolutely gorgeous NYC weather and made a day of browsing the Van Cleef & Arpels exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum; and engaging in a bit of frolicking in Central Park.

Set in Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels features 350 pieces from the illustrious Van Cleef & Arpels collection, organized into six themes: Innovation, Tranformations, Nature as Inspiration, Exoticism, Fashion, and Personalities. Some of the prominent pieces featured accompanying sketches from the firm’s design archives, which was a nice supplement and a cool look behind-the-scenes.

As consummate girly girls, Mrs. G and I oohed, ahhed, and drooled over the swoon-worthy jewelry, with its colorful stones placed in sometimes delicate, sometimes mildly gaudy and sometimes completely over the top settings. My favorite piece was this beautiful butterfly brooch.

Though smaller than expected, we still enjoyed the exhibit. To see more gorgeous pictures or for additional info on attending, visit the museum website.