DINH VAN
Less ornamentation, more design
In 1965, Jean Dinh Van left Cartier after a decade of working alongside the legendary creative director Jeanne Toussaint, and opened his own workshop in Place Gaillon, Paris.
With a single, radical idea: jewelry doesn't belong in a safe. It should be worn every day, by everyone, on the street.
This was far from a modest vision. In the mid-1960s, high-quality jewelry was almost exclusively designed for special occasions. Dinh Van completely challenged this understanding. While others hid clasps, he made them the focal point of the design. While others opted for opulent gemstones, he drew inspiration from everyday objects: padlocks, carabiners, razor blades, and chain links.
As he himself said: "My jewelry is never fantasy. I want it to be as natural as a doorknob, combined with the emotion of discovering something completely new."
The idea quickly caught on. After his first boutique opened on Rue de la Paix in Paris in 1976, more boutiques soon followed in New York, Geneva, and Brussels.
The link
In 1968, Jean Dinh Van meticulously crafted a traditional jewelry link into a new, rectangular shape with gently rounded edges and named it Maillon.
The inspiration came from the cast-iron barriers around the Opéra Garnier, not far from his Parisian workshop: a purely functional object elevated to a sculptural form. Not a chain. But a link that moves with the body, catching light from every angle and needing nothing more to make its impact.
The Maillon holds a special place within the Dinh Van collection. While the Menottes made the brand known in France through their accessibility and variety, the Maillon, in its diamond versions, embodies the house's most architecturally sophisticated and precious expression.
For over fifty years, the Maillon has been produced without interruption, without ever needing to be changed. This is not nostalgia. This is the definition of good design.
This diamond-studded 18k gold Maillon necklace is a design that has outlasted every trend it was ever measured against, inspiring numerous designs that followed. Created to be worn every day. Exactly as it was intended.
With Dinh Van, Jean Dinh Van revolutionized jewelry in the 1960s: instead of opulent creations, he designed minimalist jewelry for everyday wear. To this day, the Parisian Maison stands for timeless design, iconic collections like Maillon, and a clear design language that transcends generations.
