n the silence of a workshop, a craft is often passed on without words. A graver etching gold, a hand setting a stone, a polisher revealing the lustre of a material, a paintbrush capturing on paper the full beauty of a future jewellery piece. These touches tell an age-old story: that of French jewellery craftsmanship, inherited from centuries of excellence.
Although this sector creates jobs, the various skills composing it remain little known, particularly among younger generations. This is one of the reasons why Van Cleef & Arpels launched the de Mains en mains (literally “from Hands to hands”) initiative in 2021, aimed at raising awareness of jewellery professions among the general public, young people and adults looking to change careers, as well as to demonstrate that they are within everyone’s reach. Since its launch, the event has attracted 15,000 visitors, proving that these long-ignored crafts are now sparking renewed interest.
In November 2025, the city of Lyon in eastern France hosted a new edition of an event that has become a fixture on the yearly calendar for all those wishing to discover the art of jewellery-making. In the lounges of the InterContinental Lyon-Hôtel-Dieu, artisans, teachers, pupils, students and visitors congregated around a shared interest in the beauty of fine craftsmanship.
As Van Cleef & Arpels President and CEO Catherine Renier explains, “Since 2021, de Mains en mains has become an unmissable annual event, an opportunity for all the teams at Van Cleef & Arpels to share their passion for jewellery professions. We have watched with delight as this event has flourished, initially in Lyon and for the first time in Clermont-Ferrand in February 2025. Made possible by the support of the French Ministry of Education and our partners, this success reflects a shared realisation: our skills form the cornerstone of tomorrow’s creativity. Keenly aware of their value, we have launched numerous initiatives designed to preserve them.”
Hands-on workbench experience
The Parcours Métiers (Professional Pathways) opportunity forms the central theme of the event. Designed as an immersion into workshop life, it invites visitors and schoolchildren to discover the various stages of jewellery creation and the crafts involved.
Small groups of participants are guided by Van Cleef & Arpels’ jewellers, gemmologists, gemsetters, 3D designers, polishers and enamellers who share the techniques that define their profession. Everyone can try their hand at the workbench, handle the tools and understand the precision, strength and patience required at every stage in creating a piece of jewellery.
“de Mains en mains enables us to share our expertise with young people. Rather than simply giving demonstrations, we transform them into gemsetters, jewellers, polishers and designers for the duration of a workshop, so that they can discover the different stages of jewellery-making. It’s very rewarding to see students enjoy this experience and tell us so”, notes Mathéo, a gemsetter from Van Cleef & Arpels’ jewellery ateliers in Lyon.
One really needs to have attended a session with secondary school pupils to understand the fascination these crafts inspire. An atmosphere of hushed silence prevails, with everyone fully focused on their task, aware that their future may be taking shape from this very day onwards. “I was very happy to take part in the Parcours Métiers. What I enjoyed most was the polishing. This profession seemed like something I could do and I was very proud to be the first in my group to finish my piece. After the visit, I came up with a list of professions I’d like to pursue later: journalist, archaeologist and… jeweller!”, said 13-year-old Kevin during the 2022 edition.
Inspiring careers
In partnership with the French Ministry of Education, de Mains en mains supports secondary school pupils in Lyon throughout the school year to show them that these trades are within reach of all and not reserved for an elite.
The programme begins in the autumn with classroom talks by experts. The world of jewellery becomes a field of educational exploration through the school curriculum: its history is covered in history lessons; the poetry of jewellery in French studies; the principles of casting in maths or technology classes; while advertising campaign posters from the United States are analysed during English lessons.
These sessions prepare students for the Parcours Métiers, the project’s highlight event taking place in November. The experience then continues in March of the following year with public speaking workshops that help pupils recount their journey and reflect on their career choices.
A future in good hands
Above and beyond discovery, the de Mains en mains event aims to provide space for reflection on career guidance. Round-table discussions and meetings enable pupils, students or adults undergoing retraining to interact with artisans, schools and human resource managers from the sector. For behind the sparkle of the jewels lies an inescapable reality: that of challenging professions that continue to recruit and to pass on their skills.
Since its inception, the initiative has already sponsored over 1,500 students, revealing an unexpected vocation to some of them who, after participating in this programme, have chosen to train in one of the professions presented, be it polishing, gemsetting or engraving.
By bringing together artisans, students and visitors, the event serves as a reminder that jewellery-making is not merely a luxury art, but one of hand craftsmanship. A patient and collective art in which every skill finds its place in a chain of transmission. This is, without doubt, where the magic of de Mains en mains takes its source: by showing that behind every piece of jewellery there are hands. Hands that learn, hands that create and hands that will continue to write the story of jewellery, long into the future.
