When most people think of an ideal diamond, it is flawless ā pure white, perfectly symmetrical and sparkling. But there is a trend that favors individuality, even quirkiness, over perfection in a diamond. More people are seeking diamonds with slight imperfections that illustrate a stoneās origin in nature and old-style cuts that offer a subtle…
Creating art has always been the goal for the Chinese jewelry maker Feng Ji. Not content to design and assemble jewelry in a traditional or commercial way for her Feng J brand, she prides herself on honing new techniques and approaching jewelry design from an artistic standpoint. All of that has led her to TEFAF…
When Lauren Schmeer, a strategy consultant in New York City, thought her longtime partner was about to pop the question, she started dropping hints about the stone she wanted for her engagement ring. āāNot a diamondā,ā she recalled saying. āAnd I wanted something that had a little bit of color to it. I wanted to…
For centuries Native Americans treasured quahog shells, the purplish hard coverings of clams found along North Atlantic shores, which they fashioned into beads called wampum to adorn ceremonial garments and, later, to use as currency. Today, however, quahogs are primarily a food source, often found in clam chowders, and their shells are discarded. Melanie Georgacopoulos,…
An exhibition of more than 350 Cartier jewels, watches and objects ā the first major showcase on the French house since the British Museumās 1997 exhibition ā is scheduled from April 12 to Nov. 16 at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Rachel Garrahan, the exhibitionās co-curator, said the idea was to tell the…
āIt was not a traditional wedding, it was more like a party!ā said Marina Pejovic, who married Vuk Stojkovic in front of 200 people in a Belgrade restaurant in 2017. (The groom wore pink.) āWhen my husband and I decided to get married, I didnāt care about anything except that Nenad would make the wedding…
Introducing a jewelry box had āalways been a topic of discussion,ā said Andi Lee, the managing director of ChloBo, a British brand that makes demi-fine jewelry and is known for its stacking styles. That talk is turning into action on Friday, as the brand is scheduled to debut its first model: a cylindrical case that…
Gabrielle Greiss was wearing a silver cuff that looked like claws clutching her right wrist. Her short silver necklace also resembled claws, this time reaching for the dangling two-inch figure of a rodent. āItās āThe Lion and the Rat,āā Ms. Greiss, 51, explained recently during an interview at her apartment-atelier. She was referring to one…
To cap the celebration of its 150th birthday last year, Piaget did not create a book, the usual anniversary publication of choice at luxury houses. Instead, it introduced Piaget Society, an oversized magazine it now plans to publish annually. āThere was something about bringing out a magazine rather than a classic book that felt more…
For many prospective buyers, however, jadeās myriad quality points can be confounding. Evaluated on its color, transparency and texture, the material comes in two forms, jadeite and nephrite. Jadeite is the name for a kind of pyroxene rock that some in the gemological community insist should be called by its traditional Chinese name, fei cui….