Eighty pieces of Bakelite and Lucite jewelry from a private collection will be auctioned off during the Period Art & Design sale at Bonhams Los Angeles on May 20. They show the full spectrum of Bakelite jewelry, from elegant and exotic to splashy, whimsical and cartoonish. (Note the elephant with “googly eyes!”) Invented in...
A calendar of the most important trade shows and antique jewelry fairs stateside for folks in the jewelry business.
Herewith, the most important jewelry and watch auctions around the world, updated regularly as dates are announced and e-catalogs are posted. JANUARY January 10, 2012: Jewellery and Watches, Bonhams, Oxford, UK January 11, 2012: Jewellery, Bonhams London, Knightsbridge January 18, 2012: Jewellery, Christie’s London, South Kensington FEBRUARY February 9, 2012: Important Jewels, Sotheby’s New...
Christie’s sale of Elizabeth Taylor’s famous jewels was anticipated to be the most important single-owner jewelry sale in a decade, but the results were staggering. Taylor’s jewelry went for $115,932,000 – the most ever paid for a private jewelry collection. World record prices were also set for pearls, diamonds, rubies and Indian jewels. Recession,...
Whether you’re in the mood for avant garde design, breathtaking gems, or historical treasures, here are some temporary exhibits of gems and jewelry worth a trip this year. Bijoux: The Origins and Impact of Jewelry, through February 26, 2012, at Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT, examines the impact of jewelry on our culture and environment...
Rahul Kadakia met Elizabeth Taylor at an auction in Cannes in 1999. “I was a young boy and here was Miss Taylor, Hollywood star and humanitarian, and she was right there beside me, helping me raise funds for the American Foundation for Aids Research,” says Kadakia. “I thought, you know, this is the mark...
In the heady world of Paris between the two world wars, Deco jewelry ruled – which made the bold jewels designed by Juliette Moutard of René Boivin and Suzanne Belperron stand out all the more. Christie’s Paris is offering three spectacular bracelets this month that typify that other style favored by sophisticated Parisians in...
Among the rash of artist/goldsmith collaborations that came out in the sixties and seventies, Man Ray’s jewelry truly stands out. To see what I mean, visit the Picasso to Koons: The Artist as Jeweler exhibit at the Museum of Arts and Design and compare Man Ray’s dramatic sculptural designs to the wall of flat,...
Who needs fertility treatments when you can wear jewelry instead – particularly, jewelry like this? Among the earliest treasures on display right now at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts is this Nubian pendant of gold and rock crystal made around 740 B.C. with the golden head of Hathor, a goddess beloved in ancient...
Most of us know by now that Dali, Calder, even Picasso designed jewelry at some point. But Yoko Ono, Frank Stella, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons? Before Picasso to Koons went up at the Museum of Arts and Design last month, I didn’t know they designed jewelry. Most of it is from the collection of...
