If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!Albert Paley has been known as a sculptor since 1974 when he won national acclaim for creating the forged gates of the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery. But he began his career as an art jeweler. He was studying sculpture at Tyler... »
Good news: there has never been a better time to get creative with pearls. A few tips for what to look for and how to get the must luscious pearls for your money. »
Gina Pankowski's Pearl Orbit series began when she was contemplating child-bearing - which may explain why she sees pearls as a beautiful, life-containing intrusion. Wearing one of her neckpieces will transform you into public art: "People stop to look." »
“When a ruby exceeds five carats, and is perfect, it is sold for whatever is asked for it,” Jean-Baptiste Tavernier wrote in 1676. Not much has changed in that regard. »
Jacob Albee makes meteorite look like precious metal from outer space - which, if you ask him, is exactly what it is. »
Pink diamonds were among the five top sellers at Christie's today. Now that's unusual - in more ways than one - and a real feast for the eyes. »
Bakelite jewelry can look a lot like modern resin, but the earliest attempts at plastic didn’t look so plastic. Celluloid was invented, in 1868, with the greenest of intentions – to replace ivory and tortoiseshell. And it had to be hand-carved because it didn’t take a mold well. Bakelite, the first entirely synthetic plastic, came... »
When you examine a piece of jewelry through a loupe, are you seeing everything there is to see? A seasoned expert offers tips for mastering this tricky but incredibly useful little gadget. »
If you're in the market for rubies, read this. There's an interloper among those red beauties - and it's been spotted at mainstream retailers, priced well above its true value. »
Nothing is more universal and timeless than pearls. Wander through any major art museum and you’ll find them on everyone from maharajahs to lowly servants. There’s Rembrandt’s “Weighing of Pearls,” Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring”—which inspired a Hollywood movie—and nary a portrait of Queen Elizabeth where she isn’t dripping with them. Leonardo da Vinci... »
Looking for the perfect loupe? Gem and jewelry expert Antoinette Matlins explains what to look for. »
Miss America, royal weddings, red carpets, Madonna – they all have their tiara moments. But my personal favorite happened on Friday Night Lights, the TV series about high school football in small-town Texas. In a second-season episode, quarterback Matt Saracen accepts a postal delivery at the poverty-level tract house he shares with his grandmother, who’s... »
Susan Sanders is one of those rare people who always knew what she wanted to be when she grew up. “When I was six, I could have told you I wanted to make things and sell them for a living,” she tells me while carving a piece of wax in her studio. Sanders works... »
As Sex and the City fans eagerly await the release of movie 2, a look back on that cocktail ring Samantha bid on in movie 1 - and the real auction and ring that inspired it. »
For every hour they spend shooting a jewel, pro photographers spend another hour tweaking it on the computer. Welcome to the age of digital retouching. Good news: Photoshop isn't as tricky as it looks and the pros are sharing their secrets. »
Todd Reed is red hot now but his success didn't happen overnight. He launched his signature look in 1994 - raw diamonds in quirky gold designs - and a few years later, made a big commitment to sustainability. That commitment is limiting his growth - and that's okay with him. »
It’s official, as of yesterday: The famous Wittelsbach-Graff diamond did not come from the same stone as that other rare and storied blue diamond, the Hope, despite amazing similarities. The two share “similar histories but were clearly found as separate stones,” said Jeffrey Post, curator of the Smithsonian’s gem and mineral collection, at the unveiling yesterday. The... »
A visual tour of the sprawling, international marketplace that takes over the city of Tucson every winter - the funky, outdoors part. »
"To some extent, jewelry is body enhancement, so if it doesn't glitter or sparkle it's not doing its job," says studio jeweler Susan Chin. "But bone and ebony don't glitter and sparkle, they just feel really good." »
Pairing intricate wire weaving with geometric shapes, Sally Craig reinvented the technique she learned from Mary Lee Hu - and found herself with a hit on her hands. »
Judith Neugebauer credits her years as a ballet dancer for the movement and graceful lines of her jewelry designs. »
Much of Cornelia Goldsmith’s inspiration comes from nature – butterflies, trees and sea horses with a surrealistic twist. Branches sprout from a three-dimensional heart, cleaved down the middle and bleeding granulation. “I like the idea of having two layers in one design, nature combined with other realities—my own fantasies,” she says. “A lot of times,... »
Fine antiquities in good condition are rare and that keeps prices high in this category overall. Ancient jewelry, however, is a notable exception. You can buy rings and earrings from Ancient Rome and Greece for the price of a David Yurman bracelet. »
Aquamarine symbolizes renewal, eternal youth and happiness, so it's a fitting birthstone for those born in the month when winter gives way to spring. »
Buying antique or vintage jewelry means first figuring out what it is, where and when it was made, and by whom. That’s why the first thing an experienced buyer will do is hold a piece up to a loupe and examine it for hallmarks. If jewelry has hallmarks and they appear authentic, identifying its... »
Somehow it’s not surprising to learn that many collectors of Hilary Hachey’s jewelry are architects. There’s something architectural about the pared-down quality of her designs. They’re all about form, mostly geometric, not much embellishment. It took her a while to find her signature look, and the key, she says, was to learn to ignore conventional... »
Wearing Alexander Calder’s jewelry to a party once marked a woman as an art world insider. “It was a something of a cult to wear Calder’s jewelry in the thirties and forties,” says Mark Rosenthal, who helped curate the exhibit Calder Jewelry. It didn’t cost much to wear this hipster badge. Marion Willard sold Calder’s jewelry... »
At the SOFA show, experimentation rules on a very high level. You'll find jewelry that's both sculptural object and functional art - and the funky crowd who makes, collects and wears it. »
British designer Stephen Webster talks about the art jewelers who influenced him - from Lalique and Bovin to the mavericks of the sixties. »
When Carolyn Tyler left a fast-track advertising career and glamorous life in Santa Barbara to reinvent herself as a jewelry designer in Bali, she found her true home - in more ways than one. »
René Lalique was born 150 years ago this month. Jewelry has been through some radical changes since Lalique abandoned it for art glass a century ago, yet many of the world's most famous designers still consider him the ultimate jewelry artist. »
For Joanna Gollberg, tools are the root of all invention, from rattle rings to moss-covered bracelets and brooches that sprout gemstone buds. »
Once considered a powerful curative, emeralds have decorated the world's most glamorous women from Cleopatra to Angelina Jolie. A look at the star-studded history of this rare and fragile green beryl. »
What happens to jewelry abandoned in safety deposit boxes? Apparently, some of it ends up at auction. A portion of the 1,000 or so lots going on the block Thursday at Doyle New York come from the Puerto Rico-based Banco Popular. Most of the interesting stuff appears to come from more conventional sources, however, including a... »
