The number of exhibitions devoted wholly or in part to jewelry is increasing. Here are just a few of the 20 or so exhibitions scheduled for 2025. Enjoy your visit.

By Sandrine Merle

 

 

“Jewels of the Opéra de Paris”, Paris

One of the missions of the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BNF) is to preserve jewelry and objects no longer used by the Paris Opera. The curators have selected 70 pieces (out of a total of 4,000) that are documented, in other words, whose function and the show in which they appeared are known. These include Salammbo’s headdress and its depiction in a painting by Georges Clairin (1893), the floral headband in blown pearls created in 2011 and, in a nearby photo from the Atelier Nadar, the original designed by René Lalique and worn by Sarah Bernhardt in La Princesse Lointaine (1895). A number of contemporary pieces, not yet deposited with the BNF, demonstrate the durability of traditional manufacturing techniques in the workshops of the two theaters, Garnier and Bastille.

Until March 28, 2025, Bibliothèque-musée de l’Opéra Palais Garnier

 

“Paris, Capital of Pearl”, Paris 

This chronological exhibition focuses primarily on natural pearls. Among the hundred pieces of jewelry on display are splendid Belle Époque necklaces formed by strands of perfectly matched pearls, i.e. virtually identical in size and color, as well as a sheep’s head brooch by Joel Arthur Rosenthal from 2006, whose strands of micro-pearls mimic curly fleece. The main purpose is to recall that, at the end of the 19th century, Paris became the center of international trade. Pearls fished in the Arabian Gulf were sold by three hundred Parisian traders. In addition to the exhibition, the richly illustrated book written by Léonard Pouy is a must-read to learn more about this story, which came to an end in the 1930s.

Until June 1, 2025, L’École des Arts Joailliers L’Hôtel de Mercy-Argenteau

 

“Sparkle! Gifts of Contemporary Jewelry from Robert Hiller”, Kansas City

An exhibition for insiders only… The museum is exhibiting avant-garde pieces donated by Robert Hiller over the past decade. The collector and teacher at Stuttgart’s Musikhochschule was a fan of the brooch, and fell in love with the tiara after seeing the famous exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2022. Hence the presence of numerous interpretations by contemporary designers in a dazzling variety of materials and forms.

Until December 7, 2025, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

 

“Samurai Splendor: Sword Fittings from Edo Japan”, New-York City

During the Edo period, Japanese swords made for samurai reached such a level of sophistication that they became veritable works of art. This exhibition presents a selection from the MET’s collections, as well as accessories and related objects: makers’ sketchbooks, decorative elements such as the tsuba at the base of the blade and the menuki on the sides of the handle. Most had never been exhibited before.

Until March 23, 2025, MET museum

 

“Zero Waste: Jewelry”, Racine (USA-Wisconsin)

In contrast to traditional jewelers who focus on gold and gems, avant-garde designers are big fans of non-precious materials originally intended for uses other than jewelry. Bones, shells, curlers, U.S. currency, newspaper, zippers… are all part of their DNA. All these jewels belong to the RAM collection.

Until February 22, 2025, Musée d’art de Racine (RAM)

 

“Solid Gold”, New-York City

For its 200th anniversary, the Brooklyn Museum is exhibiting 500 pieces (paintings, clothing, videos, jewelry, design, coins, sculptures) or partially covered in the precious metal. 250 of these are from its own collections. As the chronology unfolds, Cartier jewels appear, including this magnificent necklace of Muslim prayer beads and the fly necklace worn by Elizabeth Taylor in the film Cleopatra (1963). Rare enough in this type of exhibition to be worth noting: the curators tackle the dark side of gold mining, such as colonization and environmental destruction.

Until July 6, 2025, Brooklyn Museum

 

“Silver and Stones: Collaborations in Southwest Jewelry, Santa Fe

If you’re passing through Santa Fe, this jewelry collection is a great opportunity to get acquainted with the Navajo style. Jewelry from the 1940s and 1950s, part of the museum’s permanent collection, illustrates the collaboration between silversmith Diné and artist David Taliman (1901-1967) to create jewelry for William C. Ilfeld (1905-1979). Ilfeld was a well-known local figure, head of the family store’s Native American jewelry department.

Until April 1, 2025, Palace of the Governors, New Mexico History Museum

 

“Chicago Collects: Jewelry in Perspective, Chicago

Chicago was a major jewelry-making center in the United States immediately after the World’s Fair was held there in 1893. The two hundred pieces (from Chicago public and private collections) cover a period from the late Renaissance to the present day, including Art Nouveau, the 19th century, the Belle Époque and Art Deco. A 19th-century monstrance rubs shoulders with diadems, medals of the kings of France, jewelry by Fabergé, Louis Comfort Tiffany and René Lalique. It’s also an opportunity to discover pieces from the Kalo boutique, where women were taught metalworking.

Until January 5, 2025, Muskegon Museum of Art

 

“Pinned! Contemporary Antwerp Jewellery”, Antwerp

Antwerp has a reputation as a city of fashion and design, and this exhibition is an opportunity to showcase its jewelry creativity. Dirk Schrijvers, the collector and lender of the 200 pieces, and the 60 designers all hail from this Flemish city. These include Rembrandt Jordan, Dimitar Stankov, Peter Vermandere, Nadine Wijnants and even Dries van Noten. There’s no need to look for another thread: Dirk Schrijvers chose these pieces (mostly brooches) on a whim. It’s his favorite moment, even before he owns them.

Until April 21, 2025, Diva Museum

 

“Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru”, Sydney

Until February 23, 2025, Australian Museum

 

“Vivienne Westwood & Jewellery, Wellington

Was it the extraordinary success of the pearl necklace with the Alpha generation that prompted the house of Vivienne Westwood to organize an exhibition on jewelry? For the time being, her eighteenth-century frock coats, skirts with exaggerated hip and buttock padding, bustiers in romantic Boucher-style prints, tartans, etc. were more celebrated than her brooches and necklaces. Yet they are an integral part of her style, as evidenced by the presence of 550 pieces on silhouettes classified by decade since the 1980s. Westwood began selling jewelry at a market stall on Portobello Road in the 1970s.

From December 13, 2024 to April 27, 2025, Te Papa

 

“The Fascination of Jewellery – 7000 Years of Jewellery Art”, Cologne

The exhibition features 370 pieces of jewelry, all from the MAKK’s collection of 1,700 pieces spanning seven millennia. One of the highlights is a group of pieces by Elisabeth Treskow, a little-known Colonian silversmith, characterized by the ancient technique of granulation. Nineteenth- and twentieth-century jewels by masters such as René Lalique, Karl Gustav Hansen and Castellani also provide an excellent opportunity to visit Cologne, a four-hour train journey from Paris.

December 18, 2024 – August 24, 2025, Museum of Applied Arts Cologne (MAKK)

 

“From Heart to Hand – Dolce&Gabanna”, Paris

After Milan, the exhibition dedicated to the Italian duo Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana moves to Paris. The two hundred creations interact with works of art in theatrical settings. One room is wallpapered with golden tesserae, another overloaded with mirrors and elaborate chandeliers in which flamboyant garments are reflected. Jackets in velvet threaded with silver, dresses in silk glittering with gold arabesques and crystal tassels, bodices embroidered with brooches in the shape of ex-votos, and so on. Guaranteed to dazzle; slow-fashion fans, beware…

January 10 – March 31, 2025, Grand Palais

 

“Au fil de l’or. The art of dressing from the Orient to the Rising Sun”, Paris

This exhibition retraces the thousand-year history of gold and its use in Asian textile arts. Kimonos and obis from Japan, saris from India, songket (long silk rectangles) from Malaysia… Depending on the technique used, gold is threaded, woven or embroidered by the Lesage workshop. Not everything that glitters is gold, and it can also be naturally golden silk, such as that produced by spiders in Madagascar. The exhibition also features spectacular creations by Chinese fashion designer Guo Pei.

February 11 to July 6, 2025, Musée du Quai Branly

 

“Cartier”, London

It’s been over a century since the first exhibition in London, organized by Jacques Cartier when he was head of the boutique: it was dedicated to the tiara to capitalize on the coronation of King George V.  The exhibition features 350 objects, some of which are directly related to the English branch: the Scroll tiara worn by Elizabeth II at her coronation and by Rihanna on the cover of W magazine (2016), or the Manchester tiara (1903) belonging to the V&A collection. For royal family afficionados, King Charles III is lending a number of pieces, including the tiara worn by Kate Middleton at her wedding to Prince William. A sentimental jewel not to be missed among all these statutory pieces: the amethyst and sapphire brooch, made in accordance with Jacques Cartier’s wishes for his wife Nelly.

April 12, 2025 – November 16, 2025, Victoria & Albert Museum

 

“Marie Antoinette Style – Shaped by the most fashionable queen in history”, London

Those who are still talking about the pair of Converse amidst the silk pumps in Sofia Coppola’s film will love this exhibition! The objects are here to bear witness to “the late monarch’s lasting influence on over 250 years of design, fashion, film and the decorative arts”. So it’s a mix of anachronisms, shoes by Manolo Blahnik (sponsor of the event), portraits like the one from 1773 painted by François-Hubert Drouais, and objects and furniture like the chair made for her private apartment.

September 20, 2025 to March 22, 2026, Victoria & Albert Museum