NY Jewelry Shows

Set in Style: the Jewelry of Van Cleef and Arpels
at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum
until June 5th

Jewelry from one of the great European jewelry houses. I love to see the ingenious way that the jewelry is put together. I saw the Cartier exhibit last year in San Francisco, and while I did get overwhelmed by the diamonds at times, the jewelry always displayed the highest level of craftsmanship. My only wish...as a jeweler, I have such a strong desire to check out the back, which I couldn't always do!

Celestial Gold- Fine Jewelry from the Himalayas
at Tibet House, opens March 17th

I lived in Nepal for two years, and Himalayan jewelry is a love of mine. The Tibetan amulet boxes, called gau, were the starting point for me when I began making lockets. When travelling in remote Himalayan villages, it is very common to see women wearing their gold and turquiose jewelry, or oxblood coral, which can scarcely be found nowadays.

I looks like with the coming of spring, I have good reason to get out of the studio and see some amazing jewelry pieces.

Fresh Off the Bench

Yesterday, I finished a couple of new pieces. I am excited to start adding color back into my collection. For a couple of years, I have been very focused on the black silver with just gold accents and some orange sapphires sprinkled in. Now, I have some rainbow moonstones (with mostly blue flashes), and some tourmalines to work with.

Early indications are that thee rings are going to be very popular. I made them in the late fall as new samples, and I have had quite a lot of interest already. I tend to test out a new direction with a one or a few pieces in that theme. I wear it myself and see how I feel about the piece day to day. If I get a strong response, I go forward and make a collection around that theme.

I haven't done anything "branchy", in a long time, but I have a had a wire mockup of a branchy ring on my bench for a long time. Finally, the idea was ripe after I put this rosecut tourmaline on my bench next to the mockup.

Stay tuned for more!