Vever, a pioneer of Art Nouveau: boldness rewarded
In 1900, beneath the nave of the Grand Palais, Maison Vever presents its creations at the Paris Universal Exposition. Before the jury, its jewels stand apart: flowing curves, floral motifs, winged women and materials previously considered “non-precious”, such as horn and pâte de verre. That day, Vever receives the Grand Prix for Jewellery. It is not the first accolade — but it is the crowning achievement of a bold decision made eleven years earlier.
Stand at the 1900 Universal Exposition
1889: the first triumph
It all begins in 1881, when Paul and Henri Vever take over the Maison founded by their grandfather Pierre-Paul in 1821. Paul oversees the business; Henri, trained in drawing and passionate about art, brings a radically new vision to jewellery. In 1889, at the Paris Universal Exposition, the Vever brothers win their first Grand Prix. Critics praise the grace of their “jewelled bouquets” — a design language that already breaks with classical jewellery, which places greater emphasis on the value of gemstones than on artistic composition.
Breaking with convention
Henri Vever does not simply follow a trend: he helps shape it. Fascinated by Japonisme and Persian art, and an avid collector, he finds inspiration far beyond the Parisian workshops. He surrounds himself with the leading artists of his time — Eugène Grasset, Georges Fouquet and René Lalique, before the latter strikes out on his own. Together, they create a naturalistic style of jewellery in which dragonflies, wisteria and female figures replace the rigid compositions inherited from the nineteenth century.
1900: the crowning achievement
The 1900 Universal Exposition marks the pinnacle of this artistic journey. Some twenty Art Nouveau jewels, designed with Eugène Grasset, attract particular attention. The Sylvia pendant, depicting a woman with butterfly wings in gold, opal and translucent enamel, becomes one of its emblems. That year, Vever receives the Grand Prix for Jewellery — while Lalique, in the neighbouring pavilion, wins the Grand Prix for Bijouterie. Two Maisons, two styles, the same boldness: a desire to break with “Louis XV”, as Henri Vever writes in his journal.
Further accolades follow: Brussels in 1897, then London in 1908, where Maison Vever once again wins the Grand Prix. An international clientele flocks to rue de la Paix — Tsar Alexander III, the Shah of Persia, Japanese prince Tokugawa Iesato and President Sadi Carnot among them.
Sylvia Pendant, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris
Henri Vever, a historian of jewellery too
What sets Henri Vever apart is also his perspective on his own craft. Between 1906 and 1908, he publishes French Jewellery in the Nineteenth Century, a landmark work still studied in jewellery schools today. A creator as well as a historian, he documented his craft with the same rigour he brought to his creations — leaving the Maison a legacy as intellectual as it is artistic.
A bold spirit that endures
Two centuries after its founding, that bold spirit remains at the heart of the Maison. Camille and Damien Vever, the seventh generation, have revived Vever by drawing on its Art Nouveau heritage — not as an exercise in nostalgia, but as an enduring source of inspiration for contemporary jewellery, guided by conviction and faithful to its founding vision: beauty drawn from nature, brought to life through uncompromising craftsmanship.
At Vever, being a pioneer has never been a pose. It is a standard upheld since 1821.
