Jean Dinh Van (French, b. 1927), designer, Cartier (French, est. 1847), manufacturer, Slave Ring, circa 1969, gold

Audio Description

Jean Dinh Van was a French jeweler who was born in 1927. He designed this ring around 1969 for Cartier, a French jewelry house that was established in 1847.

This ring is made of polished gold and is a wide band devoid of any decoration or texture. On the front a round ring is attached and can be left to dangle or it can rotate to allow the finger to go through it.

Label Copy

Jean Dinh Van was a French jeweler who was born in 1927. He designed this ring around 1969 for Cartier, a French jewelry house that was established in 1847.

Jean Dinh Van’s work blended perfectly with the fluid fashion and contemporary lifestyles of the 1970s. Recognizing that future archeologists would speculate about 1970s culture based on the jewelry they found, he made work that mirrored modern life and did not look to the past. Dinh Van’s jewelry is sophisticated, minimalist, and viewed as art objects when not worn. Targeting a younger, mod audience, his designs sold for relatively affordable prices—$30 to $500—when compared with others of the time. In 1969, this particular ring was listed in the New York Times as selling for $169.

While the title of this piece—Slave Ring—may have adverse connotations today, in the 1960s and ‘70s, many designers created contemporary jewelry related to restraining or binding two people together. Dinh Van himself designed bracelets that resembled handcuffs for fashion designer Paco Rabanne. Cipullo’s Love bracelet, designed for Cartier, is another example.

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