Bold & beautiful – dinh van

French jewellery maison dinh van was born in 1965. Fifty-five years since its launch, the luxury designer jewellery brand remains one of the most sought after owing to the founder’s foresight. He created a brand that went beyond all conventional rules to feature stylish jewellery that is precious yet can be worn every day! 

dinh van jewellery epitomises the principle – true luxury is simplicity. The brand’s creations are exceptionally beautiful and crafted for women to wear the pieces just about every day, be it to the office, brunch or an evening out. 

Present in Paris, New York, London, Tokyo, Geneva, Beirut, Miami, Bahrain, Morocco, Toronto and Dubai, dinh van has moved away from the classic designs often followed by jewellery houses to create bolder yet timeless styles. The primary designs of dinh van include two shapes –  square and round. Simple, bold and unique. 

Thierry Vasseur, General Manager at dinh van and jewellery expert talks in detail to The Luxury Bulletin about the brand’s journey over the years, geometry in designs, new collections and more…

Please tell us about the dinh van philosophy and how it has adapted over the years?

Worthy heir to the philosophy of the Bauhaus artistic movement, the House could make its own the famous quote pronounced by Mies Von de Rohe, “less is more”.

Our philosophy and free spirit have remained unchanged since the creation of the house in 1965. Faithful to the founding principle of the house, which was, like Yves Saint Laurent and ready-to-wear, to free jewelry from conventions and take it to the streets.

Time has proven us right; today’s customers are looking for a purer and more minimalist jewelry to wear every day.

Please tell us about your role as the General Manager. 

If we use the image of the musical universe, the job of a GM can be broken down into two main roles: that of a composer and that of a conductor.

First, he or she writes the score, in other words, defines the overall strategy of the brand: product strategy, business development and brand message. 

Then he becomes the conductor: he leads his teams so that they follow the score without false notes! 

How was 2020 for the brand? 

Given the global context, both health and economic, we were rather fortunate!

Like everyone else, we had to close all of our points of sale for almost two months. But this highlighted our ability to sell on our ecommerce site, which has performed remarkably well. And the recovery has been rapid and very encouraging, especially in Europe.

How often are new collections launched by the brand?

The jewellery industry has a much slower pace than the fashion industry. We launch, on average, a new collection every three / four years. The latest collection launched is Pulse dinh van, launched at the end of 2017. 

That doesn’t mean that our collections don’t evolve in the meantime! We release about fifty new models per year. For the end of the year, we are notably launching three exceptional models in our iconic collection: Menottes dinh van.

dinh van has seen tremendous growth in the last few years. What do you owe the success and popularity to?

As I said in the beginning, for more than 50 years we have been faithful to the founding principle of our company.

We have at heart to propose a design and minimalist jewelry, which accompanies the customers at every moment of their life. 

Remaining sincere and faithful to what we were and what we will be is the key to the success of the House.

Geometry is a key element in the dinh van collections, with squares and circles playing a primary role in the design. Is there a reason for this design element being incorporated by the brand?

The search for simplicity has accompanied our creations from the beginning. From the very beginning, dinh van has built itself in the opposite direction of traditional jewelry which is inspired by fauna and flora. dinh van house has taken the opposite approach, taking inspiration from the essential shapes that surround us daily: the round and the square!

Who is the dinh van client? Does the brand have a muse?

Due to the variety of our creations, and the depth of our collections, we cannot identify typical clients. We can accompany our clients in all the important moments of their lives, from their birth, through all the other happy events that punctuate one’s life. For that reason, we don’t have a muse.

What can we expect from the brand over the next few months?

In the years to come, we plan to continue our international development and our presence in the UAE!

*dinh van’s flagship boutique in the region is located in Dubai Mall.