Monday, July 27, 2015

Antique Jewelry and Watches Show, New York

As quoted by the great Albert Einstein, "I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." Perhaps this might have applied to me. I know I love jewelry (who doesn't?) but I never knew I would actually be developing myself in the jewelry industry. It all started from my first jewelry history class back when I was in college. Learning about the different time periods opened my eyes to how jewelry adornment has changed. Then my curiosity to understand more about the jewelry industry led me to start a jewelry subscription service as a side project. From there I landed a job at Swarovski and other well-known companies for internship. However, it wasn't till I created this blog that I started to fell in love with antique jewelry, every piece is so unique and meaningful.



Today was the last day of the Antique Jewelry & Watch Show held in New York, Metropolitan Pavilion. I knew this was something I could not miss and I was right. The minute I stepped into this show I was mind blown. Never in my life have I seen gemstones as big as my thumb, and diamonds as bright as the stars. They were truly museum quality pieces. Below were some pieces that I managed to take photos of, I wish I hadn't been that shy and had taken more photos.





There were about 113 booths, and all the jewelry pieces were secured in glass cases and there were bodyguards standing at every corner to ensure the safety of the sellers and buyers. At the show you could find pieces from high luxury companies such as Van Cleef & Arpels, Tiffany & Co., David Webb, etc. It was amazing to see the pieces in person. As I grace the details of every piece with my eye I can imagine feeling the weight of each piece on my fingers. The price tag was extremely heavy yet I see people paying in cash with hundred dollar bills. One day I want a piece of jewelry like this in my collection too.



I was so happy to finally see David Webb's animal bracelet in person. Below is a zebra bracelet that's made out of gold and diamonds, colored with enamel and embellished with emerald eyes. Next to it is the platinum bracelet covered with diamonds and baguette cut emeralds.





One of my favorite booth was Lenore Dailey's booth. Lenore Dailey's collecting expertise spans from many time periods and countries- Victorian, Art Nouveau, Memento Mori, Georgian, Edwardian, Arts & Crafts, Art Deco, Retro. The first thing that caught my attention was how she displayed her booth. Instead of white light and silver glass frame, she used yellow light and yellow glass frame. This gave off a very welcoming vibe when I walked passed her booth. When I took her business card I realized I actually follow her on social media. After speaking with the sales specialist, I filled in a draw to try and win this ring below.

Personally I think antique ring boxes are so cute and meaningful, it feels like I am opening a treasure chest compared to ring boxes we get in fine jewelry stores made out of cardboard materials.



Below was another booth I came across. The owner Patricia Novissimo- Lowther Antiques is from London. She specialized in Georgian jewelry, and her philosophy is straight-forward-

"Everything I buy must touch my heart. It has to appeal to me as if I were buying it for myself. I also feel that I am only the guardian of the piece, I never own it. I am merely the caretaker until someone else takes over that charge. These beautiful pieces have been around for hundreds of years and will exist for many hundreds of years to come and so they pass thorough our lives, enhancing them with their spirit and beauty".



Have you seen the documentary about the 400 Million Bahia Emerald? If you haven't you should definitely check it out (below). Found hidden in the earth of Brazil in 2001, this emerald weighs 840 pounds and contain roughly 180,000 carts of emerald crystals, making it one of the largest emerald ever found. Many people have tried to claim ownership of it but it never went through, now it's said to sit in a vault waiting to be claimed.


So you can imagine when I see a jewelry with emeralds on it. It reminded me of this documentary I watched and the number of years and hardship it took to extract such a beautiful stone. Below is a choker made of platinum covered with diamonds and a cabochon cut emerald centerpiece.



Below were other pieces that caught my attention.




Knowing me, I took their brochure and collected the business cards from all my favorite booths. So which one was your favorite piece? 


1 comment:

  1. Excellent! Thanks for providing such a great article. You can also check more antique jewelry stores

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...