Jewellery, she emphasises, was one of humankind’s first art forms – people have been decorating their bodies with objects throughout history.

“Charting the story of jewellery is a way to understand different cultures and uncover historical facts,” she adds.

The purpose of the schools, says MacDonald, is to foster partnerships and collaborations among experts, museums, scientists, geologists and art historians from each region to understand the past and present history of the local jewellery culture.

“That knowledge is then shared on the campuses through conferences, publications or even exhibitions,” she adds.

Marking the grand opening of L’École Middle East, School of Jewelry Arts, is the “Gold and Treasures: 3,000 Years of Chinese Ornaments” exhibition, which runs until August 10.

On display are 100 gold jewellery and accessories pieces from China that span over three millennia of the country’s craftsmanship in the field. The alluring items reflect the history and society in China over the last few centuries and stem from the renowned Mengdiexuan Collection, one of Hong Kong’s premier private art collections.

The Dubai school was established largely due to the success of international workshops L’École conducted in the region in 2017 and 2019.

“Since we were founded in 2012, we have been very nomadic,” MacDonald says. “We travel the world because of our mandate to share jewellery culture with the largest audience possible. We cannot just stay in Paris. We stage many activities worldwide and had two notable successful nomadic campuses that took place in the desert in the UAE.”

After encouraging feedback and a growing audience, L’École decided to open its prestigious school of jewellery arts in the Middle East, a region with a long tradition of jewellery and love for it.

The Dubai establishment is located on the ground floor of Building 10 in Dubai Design District (d3), a zone for lifestyle and creative companies and brands in the city.

The event was also attended by senior officials from Dubai Culture and d3, Van Cleef & Arpels’ global president and CEO Nicolas Bos, Van Cleef & Arpels Middle East & India president Alessandro Maffi, MacDonald, and Sophie Claudel, director of L’École Middle East.

“Dubai offers such an expansion of culture, business and tourism and it is the right time for us to launch here,” Claudel says.

The Dubai campus, featuring nods to French art deco style, was designed by Constance Guisset – as was the school’s new Paris branch and Shanghai school. (The Hong Kong school, on the other hand, was designed by Sou Fujimoto.)

The Middle East branch aligns with the educational approach of L’École and centres on the three foundational pillars of the Art History of Jewelry, The World of Gemstones and Savoir Faire.

The Dubai school offers 13 public courses, including gemmology, art history and general savoir faire workshops such as setting techniques and gouache demonstrations.

The school also has a strong social dimension, with 100 per cent of the proceeds from its public courses and talks given to Dubai Cares, the Gulf city’s philanthropic organisation dedicated to improving access to quality education for children and young people in developing countries, with a focus on the education sector.

Claudel emphasises that L’École Middle East will celebrate the historical and current significance of jewellery and accessories to the Arab world and North Africa. “We want to be relevant locally, regionally and internationally,” she says. “The courses and workshops are designed with focus on the region, and its past and present international connections.”

Jewellery offers a means for communication across cultures, as L’École demonstrates in its current exhibition. This year marks the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the UAE and China – so the timing for the exhibition couldn’t be better.