A tale of three stones
michelle.graff@nationaljeweler.com
After whirlwind trips to
Vicenza and New York for the VicenzaOro First show and the JA New York Winter
Show, I’m slowly starting to digest all the things I saw.
In Vicenza, as to be expected
since it’s the Italian specialty, there was no end in sight to the number of
amazing gold designs. (I recommend checking out the designers that are part of
the Gold Expressions program for a well-curated showcase of what’s new.) And,
after a night of pre-show people watching at a First gala event, I knew I would
be seeing pearls in a big way what with all the posh women decked out in the
oversized organic gems.
interesting of trends in Vicenza was the bounty of designs in onyx and white agate.
The Italians, it seems, are currently fascinated by the stones. Among the
booths for smaller Italian companies, I couldn’t walk by more than three
manufacturers without seeing the stones in some form or other, but most usually carved into a single flower set onto a ring.
On the other side of theAtlantic, designers in the States seem to be having a fling with turquoise—and
I’m loving it. The vivid color is like no other. And while turquoise might bring
to mind thoughts of inexpensive tchotckes picked up on trips to the Southwest
(jaunts like that are how I put together my own jewelry collection anyway),
designers at JA New York proved that turquoise cleans up quite nicely. Need
evidence? Check out these diamond-studded designs from Emily & Ashley (top) and
Angelique de Paris (left, with white agate and coral at the center). And for a bit of red-carpet glamour, don’t forget about Eva
Mendes at the recent Golden Globes. Her vintage turquoise necklace from Van
Cleef & Arpels was the night’s most buzzed-about adornment.
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