Lots of excitement surrounded Lady Gaga for wearing the Tiffany Yellow Diamond last worn by Audrey Hepburn. Several articles on seeing this stunning piece were covered by JCK, Independent, and Town & Country . Lady Gaga’s jewelry and performance will be looked backed on for many years but you wonder if it’s worth the cost? Business of Fashion put out an article titled, Does Oscar Fashion Still Matter? (accessible only to BOF Professional subscribers) Drawing attention to some of the numbers a recent poll referenced in the article found 44% of Americans did not watch the awards show red carpet coverage. I was in those numbers. Of the 56% that did only 6% said they … Read the rest
Author: Michelle
How Jewelry: The Body Transformed Exhibit is highlighting the Public’s Interest in Jewelry
Do you consider jewelry art? What kind of jewelry? I think of jewelry as art but only certain kinds I really enjoy viewing. The JAR exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City was an art show to me. It was also the first time I went to the Met. I made the trip again earlier in the month to see Jewelry: The Body Transformed before it ends on Sunday February 24th. It opened in November, a short time for viewing, if you had to travel to see it. Jewelry featured in museums is becoming more common. The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston has their own jewelry focused exhibit that started in November 2018 … Read the rest
Jewelry Store Windows on 5th Avenue Welcoming Wealth and Prosperity
In my last post I mentioned that the Valentine Displays were a little lite on 5th Avenue. Several jewelry store windows were decorated for the Chinese New Year that started on February 5th. For this post I will look at a few factors of why that is and see if those were good reasons for the stores visual merchandising strategy. The two factors I am focusing on are spending for these holiday’s and the number of stores present in the USA and China.
Valentine’s versus Chinese New Year spending
Valentine’s is a major retail holiday in the us in terms of spending. The National Retail Federation put out some data on Valentine’s spending. Below are some highlights.… Read the rest
Tiffany showing their Love for Valentine Window Display
Walking is great exercise and one of my favorite spots to walk is on 5th Avenue in New York City! I took a couple of days off from my routine in Boston to see some spots in New York City. I will tell you more about my trip in later posts but for this one I am focusing on the window displays of the jewelry stores I passed. I was expecting several Valentine’s Day displays since the holiday is this week and a big holiday for jewelry sales. When I was researching for this post, I was going to name a winner like I had in past posts on window displays. I can still name a winner and … Read the rest
2nd Annual Analysis of Town & Country Jewelry Awards
It’s that time of the year again! The 2nd Annual Town & Country Jewelry Award results are in! I analyzed some pieces of the awards last year and you can read it by clicking the link. I’m not going to go through all those points from last year. I want to only look at one main issue I had with the awards and focus on how the awards have moved forward.
If you are a subscriber to Town & Country magazine you probably got a cover like this with your magazine last week.
Anne Hathaway in a multi-colored dress with a long rose gold earring. The rose gold earrings are by Vhernier, named innovator of the year in … Read the rest
Jackie Kennedy’s Cartier Watch returns to Christie’s but not for Auction
From my last post, I mentioned going to New York at the beginning of the week to buy a book at Tiffany & Co and to see the previews of the auctions at Christie’s and Sotheby’s. As I wait for the dust to settle on the auctions, I want to point out a piece I saw while at Christie’s that I had seen before. I went to view the Exceptional Watches at Christie’s after seeing the Magnificent Jewels. I like historical pieces and found a few watches that were owned by famous people. One was a pocket watch owned by former President Franklin D. Roosevelt; the other a Cartier tank watch owned by former first lady Jackie Kennedy.
You may … Read the rest
A Review of Windows at Tiffany & Co
It’s Christmas time in the city and that means Christmas windows are up! Some of the most well-known windows in the jewelry industry are Tiffany & Co window displays. The iconic scene from Breakfast at Tiffany’s was the start of the movie when Holly Golightly gets out of the cab in front of Tiffany’s New York City boutique window takes out a croissant staring at the jewels. Only in the movies, I have passed by Tiffany’s on numerous occasions and can barely get a clear photo with all the people walking by let alone, sit in front of the window and have a snack! Yesterday was a different experience. I went in not to browse but to buy something! I … Read the rest
Why is the Jewelry Industry obsessed with one ring?
The wedding season maybe over for some but as you read this someone is looking for a ring for their significant other to propose marriage. A one time event that the jewelry industry focuses on. A little strange so many jewelers chase after one type of customer when there are other segments of consumers that may be a better fit to pursue. I talk about why there is this focus on the wedding industry and see what may need to come and shake up this long standing tradition for the jewelry industry.
It sounds strange coming from a jewelry blogger but here it goes, I don’t like looking at engagement rings. Solitaire, round, halo, or whatever, if it’s in the … Read the rest
Michele della Valle Online Results: How Sotheby’s Fared in this New Venture
Sotheby’s first online auction dedicated to a single designer, Michele della Valle ended last Monday. In this post I will look at the results of the auction and what can be learned.
Non si può mai attraversare l’oceano se non si ha il coraggio di perdere di vista la riva.
The above saying in English is: You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. That saying feels right when talking about the recent online fine jewelry auction held by Sotheby’s. I will look at the sold versus unsold items and their statistics as a whole, then break it down by type and finally look at some individual pieces that did well … Read the rest
Results of Skinner Important Jewelry: Looking at Signed Pieces
Skinner Important Jewelry Auction results are in! There are many ways to look at the data. In the interest of time I am focusing on how signed pieces did versus the unsigned pieces offered. I will look at my previous observations on Evelyn Clothier and Aldo Cipullo, the top 5 items above their estimate, and overall signed versus unsigned.
A look back at my highlights
In my previous post, Evelyn Clothier had the most signed pieces at the Skinner Important Jewelry Auction. So how did her pieces do? Below is a table showing how her pieces sold at auction. Note results do not include buyer’s premium.
Evelyn’s pieces did well 18 out of 19 pieces sold. The piece … Read the rest