V MUSE's exhibition at the 6th China International Import Expo (CIIE) had came to its finale. This is the second time for the brand to participate in the Expo, and many museum-qualitied collections have been highly praised by the audience and the media. A 33-square-metre floral wall for showcasing the Peacock Aigrette, which used more than 100 kinds of flowers, and it took 15 florists for four days to arrange. The flower wall had become a famous spot to visit at the Expo.

A Bigger Stage, A Better Craftmanship

V MUSE had a bigger stage at the Expo this year, besides the eye-catching location within the exhibition hall, the surface area of the exhibition space has increased to 500 square metres. The exhibition space was designed based on chess, the floor is carefully designed as a black and white chess board, and the jewelry cabinet was also designed in the form of chess pieces. There was a very profound interpretation of it. Because every piece of historical jewelry is a condensation of infinite time. The formation of each gemstone takes time and geological conditions. The gems emerge from the earth's surface are polished by master jewelers, then being tossed around in the hands of their owners, passed through wars, fires and changes in the world. Finally brought to the chessboard by V MUSE. The two sides standing on one's own perspective and gazing at each other's, representing the finite and the infinite, a contest between tangible substance and intangible time and space. Every finite contains an infinite, and every move in the past contains the future.

The great jewelry is not just a luxury product. They are works of art, which not only transmit creativities, craftsmanship and talents of the artists, but also demonstrate the splendid civilization of the whole mankind. It is the source of beauty, fulfilled with mental leaps, and is also the subtle presentation of the change and progress of the times.

Aside from chess, there is another design element that shows introspection of V MUSE's own cultural connotation. The usage of arcade in architetural design started from the 19th century's Paris, and later spread all over the world, have become another important image in the V MUSE exhibition space this year, and at the beginning of the 20th century, Benjamin, who was lost in the labyrinth of arcade streets, marvelled: "The arcade is a microcosm of the world." An arcade street is like a time tunnel, with the rememberance of the romantic years of Paris, just like the historical jewelries of V MUSE, each piece is a time tunnel that connects the past, and a time capsule that unites time.

Gathering of nine tiaras at the V MUSE exhibition hall

This year's Expo, under the core concept of the V MUSE Time Capsule, nine precious tiaras were gathered together to form the main part of the exhibition. All of them were made by different master jewelers from different countries in different eras, carrying unique perspectives into history and inherited family memories that transcend time.

The Fleur-de-lys Tiara comes from the Bourbon family and belonged to Maria Anna, Princess of Bourbon-Parma. The fleur-de-lys (the royal lily), a Bourbon totem, has long been used by the French royal family for its coat of arms and various decorations. The diamonds used were originally set in the Order of the Holy Spirit of King Charles X. They were removed from the Order and passed on to Robert I, the great-grandson of Charles X and ruler of the Duchy of Parma. The diamonds are then re-set into the fleur-de-lys tiara by Viennese jeweler Hübner on the family's commission. The empty casing of the Order of the Holy Spirit is now preserved in L'hotel des Invalides in Paris.

The Princess d'Orléans Tiara comes from the Belle Époque. The former owner of this tiara, Princess Louise of Orléans, was the great-grandmother of King Felipe VI of Spain.The Petit Diamond Tiara was a wedding gift from Austrian Emporer and Hungarian king Franz Joseph I to Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria-Teschen in 1903 when she married Prince Elias of Bourbon-Parma. Franz Joseph I was the longest-reigning emperor in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, for about 68 years. Franz Joseph I was loved by his people and named "the country's father". He was the husband of Empress Elisabeth of Austria and Queen Elizabeth of Hungary ——the familiar "Princess Sissi". The tiara from the V MUSE Collection is a hidden witness to history.

The Gold Leaf, Peacock Aigrette and Other Highlighted Exhibits Presented at the Expo

In addition to the tiaras, a number of highlited pieces from the V MUSE Collection were also on display at CIIE. Among them, the Peacock Aigrette is the most eye-catching. It is one of the most famous designs in jewelry design, the Peacock Aigrette has been exhibited as a star piece in the Victoria and Albert Museum in the U.K., the Palace Museum in China and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the U.S. In 1905, the legendary French jewelry house, Mellerio, received a commission from Jagatjit Singh, the Maharaja of Kapurthala, India, to create this dynamic Peacock Aigrette - enameled throughout with 1,742 rose-cut diamonds to restore the transcending color and brilliance of the peacock's feathers.The jewelry was later presented to Anita, the commoner Queen of Spain, as a testimony of love. This peacock-themed treasure also quickly conquered Paris with its oriental design, and now it has flown to the Expo to show the world the ultimate beauty of oriental glamour once again.

In addition to the Peacock Aigrette, V MUSE also presented an Emerald Diamond Necklace. A piece made from Colombian emeralds with a long history and a prestigious pedigree, represents the most sensational colour of this gemstone ever created. This necklace was created in 1810 by Nitot, a master jeweler in the service of the Emperor of France, Napoléon I. It was owned by members of Napoléon's family, which has changed hands several times. When Princess Helena of Orléans got married in 1895, this necklace was the most precious of all wedding gifts and was passed down through the royal family. Half a century later, Sybil Sassoon, who came from the Sassoon family which was one of the richest families, became its new owner. The most highlighted appearance of this necklace was at the 1953 Nobel Prize ceremony when Clementine Churchill received the Nobel Prize in Literature on behalf of her husband Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at the time.

The French National Treasure Gold Leaf of Napoleon I, which attracted much attention and popularity in last year's Expo, came to the exhibition hall again. This Gold Leaf comes from the gold laurel crown of French Emperor Napoleon I, who wore it to his coronation ceremony on December 2, 1804. The image of Napoleon wearing the gold laurel crown has since become one of the main iconographies of Napoleon in historical records. After Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, the gold laurel crown was melted down by the restored Bourbons into a small gold ball at the Paris mint in 1819. Today, only two gold leaves survive, one of which is hidden in the Palace of Fontainebleau, France; the Gold Leaf in V MUSE's collection, after making its debut at last year's Expo, has come to the exhibition hall once again, bridgging a connection of the friendship between China and France.

Surprise at the Expo

V MUSE also showcased a pleasent suprise this year. V MUSE is the exclusive jewelry sponsor of Le Bal, which is listed by Forbes as "one of the top 10 social events in the world, and one of the top 10 most luxurious parties". V MUSE presented the jewelries debuted at Le Bal Paris in 2022. 

"China is a very liberal and safe country with great business value." Alex Fan, the co-founder of V MUSE, said, "V MUSE collects antique treasures, but it is a young brand. We hope to take the wonderful stage of CIIE as a start, and co-operate with all the friends who pay attention to us sincerely, to create greater value."