SINGAPORE - French jewellery house Van Cleef & Arpels will be holding its largest heritage exhibition ever in April here.

The 110-year-old brand announced at a press conference on Wednesday (Jan 27) that the exhibition, The Art & Science of Gems, will be held at the ArtScience Museum from April 23 to Aug 14.

Spanning over 100 years of history, the exhibition will showcase over 400 pieces from the Van Cleef & Arpels' archives, plus pieces on loan from private collectors around the world.

Blending art and history with geoscience (the fields of science dealing with planet Earth), the exhibition will also include over 200 minerals and scientific artefacts from the world-renowned Minerals and Gems Collection of the French National Museum of Natural History in Paris.

Nicolas Bos, chief executive officer of Van Cleef & Arpels, says: "What's really unique about this project is that it is really two exhibitions in one... to show at the same time and in the same spaces the artistic dimensions of jewellery through Van Cleef & Arpels creations and at the same time, show the scientific approach through the mineralogy and gem stones from the French National Museum of Natural History."

This particular theme of art and science was created specially for Singapore and will not be shown anywhere else. The exhibition will also be the first Van Cleef & Arpels exhibition in South-east Asia.