Earlier this week, Ruth Angus, the associate curator of the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History, was giving me a tour of a jewelry exhibition nestled deep within the museum’s Halls of Gems and Minerals. “Each piece in this show is a collision between art and science,” she said. “Some are poetic interpretations. Others are accurate visualizations of galaxies, stars, even planetary nebulae.”
The exhibition, “Cosmic Splendor: Jewelry from the Collections of Van Cleef & Arpels,” runs through January 4, 2026. It comprises more than 60 pieces drawn from the Parisian maison’s archives as well as private collections, each one inspired by the vastness and mystery of the cosmos. Installed in the Melissa and Keith Meister Gallery, the show unfolds in a darkened chamber transformed into a celestial expanse, illuminated by constellations across black plexiglass walls—and, yes, by the light sparkling off the jewels in the vitrines.
Doubles Galaxies clips (2021), rose gold, rubies, pink sapphires, amethysts, diamonds. Courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels
“Space is colorful,” Angus said. “We think of it as black and white, but in fact, it’s vibrant—and so is this show. The jewelry captures that beautifully.” Angus served as a curatorial advisor on the show, working alongside Denton Ebel and Kate Kiseeva, the curator and assistant curator in the museum’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, and Alexandrine Maviel-Sonet, director of patrimony and exhibitions at Van Cleef & Arpels.
Fleur de Soleil clip (2016), yellow gold, mandarin garnet, yellow sapphires, diamonds. Courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels
The exhibition is organized thematically, with sections dedicated to everything from the Moon and the Sun to distant galaxies, meteorites, and the Zodiac. In one display titled “Across the Universe,” a pair of spiral-shaped brooches mirror the form and color of the Butterfly Galaxies—two merging galaxies in the Virgo constellation. “These clips really look like galaxies,” said Angus, noting the artist’s fidelity to astronomical imagery. “The colors of the gemstones correspond to actual elements found in space—hydrogen gas shows up red, new stars glow blue. You can trace the science in the sparkle.”
Showcasing treasures inspired by worlds beyond our own, the “Beyond Earth” display includes the Trappist transformable necklace and earrings (2021).
An outstanding piece in the show is the Trappist transformable necklace from 2021, inspired by the red dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 and its seven Earth-sized exoplanets. Crafted in white gold, the piece features rubies, mauve sapphires, amethysts, cultured pearls, black spinel, onyx, and diamonds, all arranged in orbit-like forms that echo the architecture of the planetary system. “TRAPPIST-1 represents our best chance of finding life in the galaxy right now,” Angus said. “It’s amazing that some incredibly fancy jewelry designer has been inspired by this somewhat obscure planetary system. It’s famous to astronomers, but most people haven’t heard of TRAPPIST-1.” On loan from a private collection, its esoteric theme says as much about its mysterious owner as it does about the distant star. “I love that necklace,” Angus said. “I hope the wearer is a star geek.”
Explosion Stellaire necklace (2021), white gold, rose gold, diamonds, sapphires. Courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels
Another case in the exhibition charts the life cycle of stars, from young stellar nurseries to dying giants. “This ring is inspired by a very young star that’s just recently formed,” Angus said. “Young for a star, by the way, is just a few million years old.” The sequence moves from youthful rings to brooches modeled after planetary nebulae, ending with the gobsmacking Explosion Stellaire necklace from 2021—a supernova in jewelry form. Art Deco-inspired in its geometry and glamour, the piece is composed of white gold, rose gold, sapphires, and diamonds. The wide diamond-and-sapphire collar can be separated into two necklaces, while the pendant detaches and can be worn as a clip.
For ten days only, the museum is also hosting a rare celestial cameo: Van Cleef & Arpels’ Planétarium Automaton, on view in the Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals from April 11 to 20. The kinetic object—measuring two feet tall and set in a five-foot-wide vitrine—features a bejeweled depiction of the Sun, Moon, and six inner planets, each rotating in real time according to their actual orbits. Earth makes its full revolution in 365 days; Venus in 225.
Planétarium automaton (2023), from the Extraordinary Objects collection, featuring gemstone planets and a kinetic solar system model. Courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels
At the top of each hour, the automaton comes to life. On the day I visited, a crowd formed and oohed in wonder as a diamond-and-emerald shooting star emerged from a hidden door, and the planets began their slow, glimmering dance. The Sun, composed of yellow sapphires, spessartite garnets, and diamonds mounted on hundreds of trembling gold stems. Around it, planets rendered in chrysoprase, rose quartz, turquoise, moonstone, red jasper, and obsidian slowly turned in their orbits—each accented with combinations of sapphires, tsavorite garnets, and white, yellow, and rose gold. Never before seen in the U.S., the automaton blurs the line between timekeeping and stargazing, art and orbit.
Source: Exhibition - news.artnet.com
