WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND.... 

Posted on September 23, 2011

    I was just going through some pieces that I had written around ten years ago (with computers, there's no need to throw these thing away), and realized that it is as relevant now as it was then, so I have decided to share it with you.

   Anyone who has been following the prices of jewelry at auction for the past ten years or so has likely become aware of several trends.  Firstly, the pieces that seem to generate the most interest, and sell way over their estimates, are not the diamond and jewel-studded pieces of vintage conventional design, but rather the exciting, interesting pieces of jewelry, often with few stones of value.  Signatures are in demand, with pieces designed by the important houses and designers commanding ever increasing prices.

                                                                                Rene Boivin Ring

    Jewelers that were less known fifteen or twenty years ago,  such as Verdura, Paul Flato and Suzanne Belperron, and jewelry houses such as Rene Boivin are now amongst the most highly sought-after.

     Unfortunately, the days are gone when just myself and a few other jewelry dealers and collectors pursued these pieces with a passion. Now I must compete against my clients for a good piece, and on my buying trips to Europe, I hear the same complaints from my sources about how difficult it is to find good pieces, and how high prices are.

                                                                               Suzanne Belperron Bracelet

    Obviously, jewelry buyers are becoming increasingly aware of the superiority of design and craftsmanship that these pieces have to offer, and more sophisticated regarding the value of great design and workmanship.  Even un-signed jewelry, especially French pieces, were, up until the late 1960's, beautifully made - routinely of a quality that today is rarely found even in expensive pieces from the best houses. One of the reasons for this was the ready supply of highly trained craftspeople. In many European countries, France among them, one did not automatically go on to high school - there were tests given, and only the more academically gifted went on to higher education - the others entered apprenticeships to learn a trade. By the time they reached their twenties, they were highly skilled. These people have now either etired or passed on, and the system has changed.  Now, it's just too expensive to make jewelry the way it was made before.

                                                                            French Victorian Bracelet

    As a direct result of the great interest in vintage jewels, many jewelry houses are going back to their archives and producing these designs again -- they are proven hot items. These new pieces are often not of the same high quality as the originals, and while the design is the same, the "soul" seems to be missing. And, these new pieces are expensive!  For example, a Schlumberger enameled bracelet that I used to buy for $6-8,000 has been re-issued by Tiffany, and retails for $23,000 and up.

    We are also seeing heightened interest in earlier antique jewels. I have long been interested in fine 18th and 19th century pieces, but I was buying these more for myself than for the gallery, and I wasn't sure exactly who the clients for earlier pieces were. Now, I can't keep up with requests for fine and unusual antique rings, earrings, bracelets and necklaces. The clients for these pieces are young women in their 20's and 30's, who are discovering the beauty and wearability of these fine and unusual jewels. Prices are still relatively low for earlier jewelry, partially because few pieces are signed, so there isn't the cult of the name that now sends pieces by Suzanne Belperron or Verdura or Cartier soaring. The prices for antique jewelry, however, are steadily rising, and, of course, good things are increasingly harder to find.

                            Antique Diamond Ring                  Edwardian Earrings

    There is also strong interest in more "modern" jewelry -- the 1950's, 1960's, and 1970's saw the emergence of several very captivating trends, from the enameled animals of David Webb to the more extreme designs influenced by Studio jewelry, and using unusual, often rough stones and experimental gold techniques. We have a number of young, artistic clients who find these pieces exciting, as well as people like me, who are old enough to remember when this jewelry was first coming out and was considered either "weird" or "cutting-edge", depending on your taste.  Not much has changed -- people still either love or hate this style, epitomized by Andrew Grima and Charles de Temple in London, and Arthur King in New York.  

                                                                                 Andrew Grima Necklace

    Coral, Lapis, turquoise and ivory, along with blue and green enamels, are still in demand by women who never realized that they had gone out of style, and by a younger generation of women who liked these jewels when their mothers wore them, and find them equally chic today.

                                                                            Cipullo for Cartier Bracelet

     We are constantly approached by stylists from all the important fashion magazines asking to borrow jewelry for editorial shoots.  They have been asking for interesting pieces in yellow gold from the 1930's and 40's, as well as Art Deco. Yellow gold is definitely back in fashion again.  Earrings are hot item, especially gold earrings, perhaps with some colored stones or a few diamonds, great for day or evening. Hoop earrings are particularly in demand right now, as are bangle bracelets and charm bracelets, and long gold necklaces, and chains with precious or semi-precious stones.

                                                                  Cartier and VC&A Bangles

    Interesting jewelry with "personality" has been out of style for a while among young women, who mostly seemed to wear a fine gold chain and a pair of almost invisible earrings. Now, tastes are changing, and young women are re-discovering adornment.  With such a wealth of wonderful antique and vintage jewelry available, it seems a shame to go un-adorned.

                                                                              Kutchinsky Earrings                                 

Audrey Friedman for Primavera Gallery

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