Eighty lots 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...
Blue diamonds continue to bring top prices at auction, a natural blue diamond being so rare and so dazzling. A ring set with a 6.01-carat cushion-cut blue diamond, flanked by pink diamonds, went for $10 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in October and an 8.01-carat vivid blue emerald-cut diamond ring is expected to sell...
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...
Ralph Esmerian, fourth-generation jewelry dealer and former owner of the Fred Leighton chain, was sentenced Friday to six years in prison for double pledging and reselling collateral used to secure more than $210 million in loans. Manhattan federal Judge Denise Cote also ordered Esmerian to perform 1,800 hours of community service and forfeit $20...
Inspired by a Victorian bicycle brooch in an exhibit opening next month: a look back at the revolution in women's fashion brought about by the bicycle craze of the 1890s.
As the final wave engulfs the brilliant career of Ralph Esmerian, the last of his treasures are being sold off to cover his debts. While the former owner of Fred Leighton awaits sentencing for bankruptcy fraud on July 22, most of what remains of the famous collection he pledged (or double-pledged) as collateral is...
Boston is shining the spotlight this summer on a pioneer of American studio jewelry: Margret Craver. If you’re a collector of Modernist jewelry, you may have heard some important pieces by her are coming up for auction at Skinner on June 14. Having lived to the age of 103 – she passed away only...
Some stunning Renaissance Revival jewelry is coming up for sale this month, renewing interest – yet again – in that 19th-century style, one of jewelry history’s most beautiful revisitations. Hollywood jeweler Neil Lane probably has his eye on these sales – and one piece in particular. “I know it sounds silly, but I actually...
Curator Sarah Coffin talks about the “Bejeweled Lives” section of the exhibit opening this Friday at the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt Museum, Set in Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels.
Not that you have to get literal with the valentines, but there is something about that shape. It’s tempting to call the attraction sentimental, what with all those memories of second-grade valentine exchanges and heart-shaped boxes of chocolate at every checkout counter. But there are theories that the heart symbol sprang from more erotic...
