Cinephiles who caught Alfred Hitchcock’s 1950 crime film “Stage Fright” might recall the hard-to-miss slightly over-the-top diamond, rubies, and platinum bracelet worn by its leading lady Marlene Dietrich. Made for the iconic actress by the Parisian luxury house Van Cleef & Arpels, this stunner known as “Jarretiere” is only one of many precious gems that bedazzle the eye on view in “Set in Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels,” a beautiful, high-profile exhibition at the Smithsonian’s Cooper Hewitt, National Design Museum.

Standing at the epitome of jewelry design innovation for over one hundred years, the legendary Van Cleef & Arpels has a long history of adherence to superb craftsmanship and technical wizardry, core principles maintained in establishing its base in New York and adapting to American style and taste.

On view are more than 350 works ranging from jewels, timepieces, fashion accessories, and objets d’art drawn from private collections, private institutions, and the Van Cleef & Arpels museum collection with a focus on the 20th century arranged thematically in six sections: Innovation; Transformation; Nature; Exoticism; Fashion; and Personalities. Made for royalty, socialites and world famous doyennes, the back-stories and rich histories are as riveting as the jewels are enticing.

Walking through “Personality” objects are displayed along side photographs of the Duchess of Windsor, Maria Callas, Jacqueline Kennedy, Grace Kelly, and Hollywood’s best-known queen of the precious gem Elizabeth Taylor. Seeing these dazzlers on style setters is a fashion statement that appears perfectly appropriate, a tribute to the wearer’s inherent glamour and personal style. Some of the most startling pieces — the “Zip” mesh necklace for one – an invention proposed by the Duchess of Windsor, has practical application by being “transformed” into a bracelet when zipped up all the way.

The imaginative site-specific installation – “memories of the past” – by the team of Jouin Manku (Patrick Jouin and Sanjit Manku) draws on the domestic aspects of the 1902 Carnegie Mansion. Jouin adds a tech savvy approach to his designs, so the Nature section features four interesting 3-D holograms at 360-degree angles to amplify the details and intricate craftsmanship.

Interpretive tools accompany “Set In Style,” including an iPad digital guide, and video interviews of the firm’s family members. The excellent catalogue written by the Cooper Hewitt’s curator Sarah D. Coffin features essays by Suzy Menkes, the International Herald Tribune’s fashion guru; and Ruth Peltason, jewelry historian, editor, and author; and provides illustrations and photos that you will ogle over for years to come. Through June 5, 2011. http://www.cooperhewitt.org/, (212) 849-8400.

Zip necklace/bracelet

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