The Bowers Museum in Santa Ana is one of my favorite little museums. Well, not so little anymore. It's the largest museum in Orange County. It began as a little regional museum. It has interesting exhibits every year, and the Van Cleef and Arpels exhibit I recently saw was wonderful. Our docent Barbara brought the pieces to life, with stories and anecdotes that added so much interest.
Van Cleef and Arpels opened its doors over 100 years ago, following the marriage of Alfred Van Cleef and Estelle Arpels. They were gem setters and gem dealers, so their marriage created a jewelry business. Van Cleef and Arpels began in Paris, but now has stores all over the world. Through the years, brothers, sisters and cousins participated in the business. In 1999 the business was sold, but the new owners vow to continue the high standards set by their predecessors. High standards they were. The gems used in their jewelry were always of the highest quality, and the craftsmanship was superb. The company was innovative, finding new ways of setting stones to give different looks (one setting called the "mystery setting")and always trying to create jewelry that was versatile. The tiara made for Princess Grace could also be worn as a necklace.
Patrons of Van Cleef and Arpels were the rich and famous. They're the only ones that could afford this beautiful jewelry. Elizabeth Taylor, Princess Grace, Barbara Hutton, Maria Callas and the Duchess of Windsor were among their clients.
I am not often wowed by jewelry, but I was by this exhibit. Some of the pieces were so unique, like an Egyptian themed bracelet of diamonds, rubies and sapphires, where the stones were placed like a mosaic showing a man on a horse and an Egyptian woman. Stunning. Beautiful boxes used for pills or cigarettes or knick knacks were beautiful too. My favorite was a box with a peacock on top with feathers spread, made from hundreds of rubies, emeralds and sapphires.
Most of us can't afford these pieces, but it sure is fun to look. I rationalize that most of the pieces are too heavy, and would be uncomfortable to wear. We all sure enjoyed oohing and ahhing over the exhibit. It's just here for a few more weeks, but see if you can.
We completed the day by having lunch at Tangata, the restaurant adjacent to the museum. The menu is full of salads, soups, sandwiches, and main courses that make it difficult to decide what to eat. I had the Manchego salad, made with arugula, manchego cheese, apricots, dates , apples and walnuts. Barbara had a mixed salad with grilled salmon on top. Karen ordered the ravioli in cream sauce, which looked delicious. Charlene had the tuna melt with sweet potato fries. Best sweet potato fries ever. Get to Santa Ana and see the exhibit and have lunch before it closes. We sure had fun. You will too.
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