Spectacular fine jewelry only gets better with time, as you well know if you visited the New York Antique Jewelry & Watch Show, which concluded Monday at the Metropolitan Pavilion.
The antique show was what I was most looking forward to during New York’s jewelry week, or rather, long weekend. The National Jeweler team loves a good antique session, and Michelle Graff and Brecken Branstrator got me seriously hooked in Las Vegas.
Vegas was my gateway drug, so to speak, and now I’ll be forever chasing the dragon, completely addicted to the hunt.
In my case, the dragon is an emerald one. I lost out on an incredible, cushion-cut emerald and platinum ring in Vegas, likely created in the 1950s, (according to the various exhibitors I asked), and it’s haunted me since.
But more on that later. First, let’s look at some of the incredible gems on display at the show.
This Cartier necklace’s last owner was Catherine Deneuve. Deneuve certainly has good taste, though if I were her, I wouldn’t have parted with this collar.
Now, the necklace lives with lucky Windsor Jewelers, unless someone snapped it up during the show. The baguettes alone are exquisite, but the octagon-cut emerald puts it over the top. I also appreciate the subtle interplay of white and gold metal.
I adore emeralds, and Windsor had a fantastic selection. This is another emerald and baguette diamond piece, though dramatically different from the Cartier collar.
Here, the baguettes mirror the abstract shape of the emerald for a seriously unique design that feels modern. I would love to see someone wear this as a two-stone engagement ring.
Another incredible booth was Yafa Signed Jewels. They grouped their jewels by designer and the David Webb case was not to be missed.
At the price of a small apartment, I consider this yellow diamond, enamel, ruby and gold ring a bargain. The color combination is unexpected but so dramatic.
I couldn’t get over David Webb’s star necklace either. Tiger’s eye never looked quite this glamorous.
I love the sturdiness of the chain and how the five points of the star are echoed throughout the design, in the sections of pave diamonds and the gold pentagon-shaped base. I wouldn't mind going back in time to wear this to Studio 54.
had their fair share of treasures as well. The main attraction was this Edwardian pendant, featuring an enormous engraved sapphire.
The intricacy of the pendant is incredible. I would love to know who the original owner was, and how she wore this.
Finally, I’ve been really gravitating toward sugarloaf-cut gemstones as of late. Their candy-esque shape possesses an innate appeal that harkens back to eating gumdrops as a kid.
The below emerald I found at Pioneer Gems has such a beautiful color. Emeralds and white diamonds are typically paired together for good reason. These white diamond trillion-cut side stones provide just the right amount of contrast to make the green pop without detracting from the emerald, like petals on a flower.
Pioneer Gems
As I took in all of the extravagance at the antiques show, I felt a small stab of pain thinking about the ring I missed out on in Las Vegas. No matter how beautiful another piece was, I couldn’t stop thinking about the one that was supposed to be mine.
And then I saw it.
The exact same ring I’d been dreaming of.
My ring.
If you love something let it go. If it comes back, then you know.
The one I keep a large print-out of above my computer, so I can visualize it into my life.
Purchased in Las Vegas, sold from one exhibitor to another, (the wonderful Ktn Kolors Ltd.), my cushion-cut emerald beauty had traveled from Las Vegas to Hong Kong and come back to me in New York.
For a lifelong cynic, my reunion with the ring that I thought was gone forever is seriously making me re-consider the whole fate thing.
Ashley Davisis the senior editor, fashion at National Jeweler, covering all things related to design, style and trends.
