Jean Dinh Van was born to a French mother and a Vietnamese father. He studied drawing at the Arts Décoratifs, then the art of metalwork at École des Arts Décoratifs, Paris.
In 1950, he joined Cartier, Paris like his father before him, where he worked alongside Jeanne Toussaint. His father had trained in Viet Nam in the traditional craft of lacquered furniture. After serving in the French Army in WWI, he settled in Paris and was hired by Cartier in the 1920s to bring those skills to their items, such as cigarette cases.
After 10 years at Cartier Paris, Dinh Van started his own venues, initially working on a collaboration with Jean Schlumberger. In 1965, he founded his own eponymous brand. In 1967 his work was recognised at the World Fair in Montreal. This marked the starting point of a second period work with Cartier, this time with the New York branch, designing exclusively for them. This time Dinh Van became the first ever designer whom Cartier ever permitted to co-sign their creations for the firm, a collaboration which lasted for a decade. His innovative, sculptural designs brought a unique edge to the firm. This honour was followed in 1970 by Aldo Cipullo.
According to a New York Times article published 2nd of April 1970,
“Cartier bills him as a designer of ‘young’ jewelry meaning that prices (which start at $30 for a simple ring and are mainly in the less than‐$500 range) put the collection in the boutique, rather than the multi‐carat diamond area of the store".
By 1976, Dinh Van had opened his own boutiques in New York, Geneva and Paris.
Illustrated: Legrandanne, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
