Jewelry & Watch News

Capturing one incredible piece in the middle of its creation. This month: a collar meant to resemble an exploding nebula. The making of a one-of-kind high jewelry piece often begins with a hunt for extraordinary stones. In the case of this recently completed elaborate collar by the Paris-based Cartier, that expedition began and ended at the annual gem show in Tucson, Ariz. While there are other such trade events throughout the world — Hong Kong, Basel, Switzerland, and Las Vegas also host prominent events — the Tucson show is the most idiosyncratic, with dealers bringing crystals, minerals and fossils in addition to precious and semiprecious stones. The six-person Cartier team spotted the more-than-15-carat octagonal yellow sapphire at a booth on the first day and a few hours later connected with a dealer who had a cache of brilliant blue lapis lazuli beads. Though purchases from a particular trip don’t always end up in the same piece, in this instance, the jewelers w...

In March the halls of Baselworld, usually packed with brand representatives, buyers and members of the media, were instead buzzing with talk of a show in crisis. The world’s largest watch and jewelry fair by both exhibitors and visitors — an event held in Switzerland that had helped brands shape the public’s perception of the two industries for more than 100 years — had lost 75 percent of its exhibitors in a little over a decade, dropping to 520 this year from its 2008 high of 2,087. Attendance declined, too, and organizers said later that the 2019 event had lost money. The problem? Some exhibitors said the fair didn’t connect with consumers. And, in an age of direct-to-buyer sales and ubiquitous social media, that meant it was something like an analog solution to a digital problem. “Baselworld celebrates a form of luxury rooted in the 1990s,” said Rolf Studer, joint executive officer of the independent Swiss watch company Oris, a longtime Baselworld e...

The Italian fashion house shows its first high jewelry collection during the couture in Paris. PARIS — Gucci’s much-touted inclusivity is not limited to community: It extends to products, too. There is little, it seems, that the brand and its creative director, Alessandro Michele, do not see as potential parts of their magic magpie mash-up vision, from sneakers to china and, as of this past week, haute jewelry, that top-end intersection of rare gems and elevated workmanship. They can go low, they can go high, they can go everywhere. The brand has already moved into the neighborhood. During the couture, the twice yearly gathering of the wealthy to view the finest and most expensive clothing creative minds can make, Gucci opened a boutique on the Place Vendôme, the 17th-century square in central Paris known as the center of the high jewelry universe.  And it presented a collection called Hortus Deliciarum, or Garden of Delights, more than 200 pieces de...

A New (Age) Shrine to Wellness The founders of the Well — a design-conscious new health club that will open this September off Union Square in New York — are devotees of science, but they also buried crystals in the foundation of the building’s soundproof meditation room. “We are type-A New Yorkers,” says Kane Sarhan of himself and his partners Rebecca Parekh and Sarrah Hallock. “We like facts, data and results — that’s why the Well was built as a science-backed ecosystem for wellness. But we also believe in the ‘woo woo’ and encourage the exploration of approaches to healing and wellness that are more spiritually based.” Accordingly, the space, an 18,000-square-foot shrine to holistic well-being, will offer a reflexology lounge and a meditation studio but also a full-service spa and private training gym for its members. It will also include an organic cafe from the team behind the health-conscious West Village restaurant Cafe Clover that will be open to the public...

Here is what you need to wear with the new Comme des Garçons Play T-shirt you just bought in the basement of Dover Street Market: a textured gold Bulgari Tubogas bracelet watch to coil up your bare arm (because you’re wearing short sleeves!); a Victorian micro-mosaic brooch of St. Peter’s Square to pin opposite your tee’s winky little heart; and—why no t? A blindingly bright ruby-and-diamond ring to light up your finger. These vintage jewels are among a carefully curated selection at DSM on display until Sunday, stars of a stunning partnership between the gang at CDG and the eminent auction house Sotheby’s. Works by artist Sammy Slabbinck have been commissioned to accompany the jewels, and these witty collages further enhance your viewing pleasure. If the installation seems to break new ground in the world of high/low—the estimate for one pretty thing is a cool $125,000 to $175,000 (girl, it couldn’t get much higher)—not everything here takes itself so seriousl...

Earlier this summer, we talked about “high jewelry.” For a refresher, read that post here. We also delved into some of the iconic designers and facts about America’s own Tiffany & Co. As we continue our exploration into iconic jewelry designers and brands, the next stop is literally a trip around the world—to Paris, Italy, Asia, and the United States. JAR, Paris The most exclusive of iconic jewelers (arguably ever!) is Joel Arthur Rosenthal, reverently known as JAR. Though born in Brooklyn, the 76-year-old JAR settled in Paris years ago and is not only exclusive, he’s notoriously reclusive. Jewelry experts agree he is the number-one contemporary jewelry artist that defines modern high jewelry, and most will refer to him as today’s equivalent of the great Peter Carl Fabergé. Not that JAR’s works look like Fabergé’s, but his level of talent and his influence are to contemporary high jewelry what Fabergé’s were to his time. JAR refuses to be interviewed, doesn’...

We all seem to have a little too much clutter. Maybe we have old accessories, jewelry or watches that are taking up space. We don’t wear them anymore either because our tastes changed, or maybe even because they’re from an ex. Today, buying and selling watches and jewelry has become an “in” thing, and if you have pieces you don’t wear, it may be a good idea to lighten the load a little. Before you jump right in and start selling, though, here are five things you may need to consider before selling that watch (or watches). 1. Be Sure Before selling, you need to be sure you want to.  The last thing you want to experience is “seller’s remorse.”  If the watch has a special history that is personal, you may want to think again. On the other hand, if your ex gave it to you – letting it go can give you another burst of independence and freedom. There is a rule of thumb that when you touch it if you feel nothing, it’s time to let it go.  2. Determine if the b...