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 that is the Tiffany Valentine window display. The only issue is there wasn’t any real competition.
I want to share a few photos from the Tiffany Valentine window display
and the few Valentine window displays I saw for the jewelry stores I passed. Afterwards
I will see what this means in terms of trends and what you can expect next.
Tiffany Display
The theme seems to be around the marketing idea of #LoveTiffanyandCo
with the shades of red and pink used in most Valentine’s Day window displays. I
like the paint props to incorporate a few more colors within that group. Below
are a few shots of the full window and some close ups of the jewelry.
Jean Schulmberger brooch
The displays above are nice, not a major wow factor but get the theme of Valentine’s Day gifts from Tiffany & Co across. Now we will look at a few other store displays
Other Jewelry Displays with Valentine Products
I am listing these displays as showing some pieces but are not displays with a Valentine’s Day theme.
There were some windows with a few heart shaped jewelry pieces like these diamond micropave hearts in rose or white gold from De Beers in the photo below. The De Beers site also has a Valentine’s Day section where I found these pieces if you click here.
There were also the displays with red hued jewelry like the rubies displayed in one window of Graff Diamonds.
Then you had a small mention of Valentine’s Day with a special edition piece like the one at Breguet. The window had one special edition watch for Valentine’s Day.
You might be wondering if the jewelry window displays on 5th had any theme? Many did not. There were some with some nice displays of a holiday but not of Valentine’s Day. The jewelry stores on 5th that had themed window displays, not including the Tiffany Valentine window display, were of the Chinese New Year!
Two New Years in the Same Year
The next post I plan on having will look at the Chinese New Year from the Jewelry Industry perspective. Tourism of the Chinese has been down in the US and I wonder what the window display strategy is of some of these jewelry houses. Thank you for reading and please comment if you find this post interesting or you have an opinion of Chinese spending and tourism in the US!
If you’d like to learn more about Tiffany window displays check out my past post on the book Windows at Tiffany.
Joan Rivers style was best described by her daughter Melissa as a ‘maximalist, more is more’. My memories of Joan Rivers, the celebrity were her larger than life style choices, her choice words and her fashion! Joan was doing standup, working on Fashion Police, publishing books, winning on the Apprentice…the list can go on.
This is only the one side of Joan that she showed to the world. She had another as a mother and grandmother. So when she passed away about 2 years ago, her daughter, Melissa, took the time to go over the estate and share her memories of her mother through the collection shown at Christie’s Auction House in New York City. The auction of her more expensive pieces is tomorrow but an online auction is going on now until the 23rd of June. I got to see a few pieces from her collection when visiting Christie’s a few weeks ago.
After getting a glimpse into her tastes and interests I found that even though her fashion style was not really my taste much of her jewelry was. I will highlight 3 designers from her New York auction and then look at her online jewels.
In March a small sample of her items were displayed to announce the upcoming auction in the summer at Christie’s. I glanced at some of her furniture and knick knacks and came across these beauties by none other than one of my favorite designers ever, Faberge!
Faberge
The Star Sapphire pendant and Chalcedony brooch in the center were the pieces I saw in person, my photos were not too good, but the Christie’s photos show some of the detail. A fun fact about Joan she was a Faberge collector! To Joan, Faberge is what came to mind when you thought about the ultimate luxury. Joan and her family were of Russian descent so it is not surprising for that to be an aspirational brand to own. Another set of Faberge pieces I loved seeing were the picture frames.
The frame to the left is of Joan and Melissa, the man in the center frame, any guesses? That is Vincent Price (Melissa’s godfather) and the woman is her godmother a Hollywood star that I did not find the name of. These photos are what was actually in the frames that Joan used. Why not? The history is an aspect Joan loved as well as the beauty. Christie’s found a record of the lavender pillbox below belonging to Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, mother to Nicholas II the last Czar of Russia. Grandmother to Princess Anastasia for those that are familiar with the animated movie starring the voice of Meg Ryan.
The Lily of the Valley bowl to the left is the highlight of the Faberge collection in the exhibit. This rare carved nephrite stone designed with rose gold, pearls and diamonds is estimated to sell between $200,000-$300,000.
For more articles that I have written on Faberge click here.
Another designer Joan often wore was Iradj Moini. He is a fashion jewelry designer based in New York who has been in business since 1989. He had previously worked for Oscar De La Renta. His work was featured in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2006 for Iris Apfel’s exhibit. I had not heard of him but Joan seemed to enjoy his work.
One of the photos above shows Joan wearing the red beaded necklace on the far right.
I saw this necklace in the exhibit and had to know more…
This is a massive necklace all made with freshwater pearls. The center gem is a large amethyst surrounded by blue and orange topazes with diamonds. The designer Cesar Lim (Cezua was his nickname as a kid) graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. He started out in fashion design working at houses such as Anne Klein then transitioned into jewelry. He opened his first gallery in Beverly Hills, CA in 2009. That necklace is estimated to go between $3,000-$5,000.
Click here to go to Christie’s to see more of her private collection.
Online Auction
For those wanting a different style and a lower price point then check out Joan’s online auction. I was surprised again at her variety, online had more art nouveau, antique jewelry and chunky beaded necklaces.
See below for the antique and art nouveau pieces I found stunning.
These brooches range from high estimates of $1,500 to $6,000. The price is high but the quality and uniqueness is where the value in these pieces would be for me. Also the proceeds will go to charities Joan was involved with. To see more click here to be directed to her online auction. So go over to Christie’s and take a look at these treasures! Below are photos from the small exhibit I saw of her items. Please let me know your thoughts on this collection or Joan! Don’t hold back, you know Joan wouldn’t!
It’s no secret by now when I say that I love jewelry! One aspect of jewelry I really love is the history and craftsmanship that even the smallest piece can have. These qualities can be found in modern jewelry or vintage jewelry. Going into a store and appreciating the work and design is a pastime of mine. Unfortunately, a little guilt can come when going in too often and not buying. A great alternative for me is attending auction previews. I’ve been to several in New York and Boston over the years. This December was no exception. The auction houses that I attend were having their previews around the same time so I made a day trip to see three auction houses in New York City and one in Boston over the first weekend in December. Yes I went to 4 auction previews in 2 days! Each had a some amazing must see pieces that I’ll share below, as well as some history with them.
Day 1:
Sotheby’s Auction House (New York City)
I started my day at Sotheby’s Auction House. This was the first auction house I had been to when I first came to NYC. I bought a bus ticket to see Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor’s jewelry displayed and up for auction. So when I heard Sotheby’s was selling another set of her jewelry I knew this was a must see. The set below is more than jewelry owned by a celebrity, the designer Suzanne Belperron has an amazing story as well. Ms. Belperron was a jewelry designer in the early 20th century. A rare profession for a woman to hold and to be so successful her jewelry came with the highest in quality of design. Her designs were so strong and unique she did not sign most of her work. She claimed, “My style is my signature.” So finding identifiable work of hers is rare and in 1987 the Duchess of Windsor a buyer of Belperron’s jewelry could only identify 5 of 16 pieces as that of the artist. This set below is one of the pieces sold almost 30 years ago and up for auction again.
This jewelry above is made with chalcedony, sapphires, diamonds and white gold. The cuffs sold as a set for $526,000, in line with the $400,000-$600,000 estimate. The necklace estimated to sell between $350,000-$550,000 earned the sum of $430,000. There were other items as well.
Below Left- a pair of topaz and diamond earring by JAR that sold for $358,000
Below Middle-a necklace designed by Van Cleef & Arpels owned by Queen Nazil of Egypt sold for about $4.3 million
Below Right- another auction preview for watches this gold and enamel watch from 1810 sold for $30,000
Christie’s Auction House (New York City)
Next stop was another famous auction house Christie’s. Below is jewelry owned by Carroll Petrie. Raised in South Carolina, Mrs. Petrie gained a passion for art and culture. She moved to New York City where she became a model and married a man that was in New York High Society. She gained many beautiful pieces of jewelry and was involved in Philanthropy which put her in contact with celebrities such as Joan Rivers, President Reagan and wife Nancy, among others. Both necklaces below are designed by Jean Schlumberger. The first one sold far above the estimate of $200,000-$300,000 going for $905,000! The necklace below that had the same estimate and sold for $725,000! These pieces were amazing to see in person. The sparkle and vibrancy of the gems was breath taking!
The gold headband above was also owned by Mrs. Petrie. This fun piece was estimated at $5,000-$7,000 and sold below the estimate for $4,375. Not as pricey as the ones above but a another piece to this woman’s fabulous life!
Bonham’s Auction House (New York City)
My final stop in NYC was at a smaller auction house, Bonham’s. The featured item for this auction was a gold clown with a black opal center, covered with diamonds, ruby an sapphires. It was a unique piece and not too big. This brooch made by Cartier in 1975 sold for $37,500.(below far left)
There were other incredible pieces to see. Next to the clown belown is a picture of a stunning Trianon designed cultured pearl, sapphire, diamond and shell brooch. I love shell jewelry and found this to be so beautiful! This was withdrawn from the auction. The photo next to the shell on the right, is a coral, emerald, pearl brooch by Tony Duquette. The bid was with drawn and did not sell. The final photo on the right is a bit blurry but in person was so full of fire and brilliance I had to add this 3.8 carat ruby ring surround by 3.3 carats of diamonds. Sadly this too did not sell. For this rings case the trend is large stone gems and 3.8 is not a large stone, but I would have gladly taken it! So 3 houses down one left for the next day as I journey back to Boston.
Day 2:
Skinner Auction House (Boston)
Even with being a little tired the next day I regained my energy to see another Suzanne Belperron piece. This diamond and platinum brooch is another example of Suzanne Belperron’s fine and unique work. This piece was made in 1940 and was estimated to sell between $20,000-$30,000. As seems the trend with my picks this did not sell. Hopefully sometime this work of art will find a good home. I did find other fun items for you to enjoy below!
I tried to get better details but the lighting was not as great as I hoped for but you can imagine the entrance this piece would make on someone! This 18kt white gold and diamond necklace by Stefan Hafner(below the two photos to the right), is beyond fantasy! Holding it was like holding a diamond net, the movement and fluidity of the piece was what made this piece so fun to see! It was estimated to sell for $25,000-$35,000 and earned the sum of $27,060!
I have really taken an interest in these carved figures that invoke a time long before the modern world. This brooch to the left above is no exception! This small 14kt gold and multi-gemstone brooch of a fortune teller was only selling for an estimate $400-$600, and went for $492. A really amazing deal in my opinion!
So that was my journey to see all these pieces and more. I learned about history, design and appreciated the little details that can get lost when only looking for the expensive items. If you went to see these auctions let me know what else you liked and please subscribe to my email list for more updates! Thank you for reading my article!
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