An industry magazine recently featured an interview with Francois Curiel, the international director of the luxury division of Christies and its Chairman for Europe. I thought I’d share some interesting bits with you since this is an area most of us never get to know well.  The most relevant parts of the article for you were his comments on the collections of famous people.

In 2011, Christies handled the sale of the estate of Elizabeth Taylor, who had a dream collection of diverse, ultrafine examples of gems in every category. Curiel tells us that “every piece was the best of its kind—the brightest gems, the richest natural pearls, many high-quality diamonds and Kashmir sapphires, Burma rubies, vintage, and contemporary signed pieces."

Provenance plays a huge role in establishing auction prices, though, and the fact that these jewels belonged to one of the world’s most famous actresses added huge monetary value to the lot.  Elizabeth Taylor knew a lot about gems and jewelry, and she chose her pieces according to the same standards someone in the business would use if purchasing for a particular client. Curiel cites this auction as a high point in his 50-year career.

He also talks about the auction of two diamond bracelets belonging to Marie Antoinette which sold at Christies for $8.2 million with an opening estimate of $2 million to $4 million. Curiel tells us that “previous ownership by royalty, aristocrats or celebrities enhances authenticity and gives the piece a persona. It can dramatically multiply the piece’s value beyond its physical worth.”

Marie Antoinette bought these bracelets in 1776 and had them delivered to her daughter, Madame Royale, who lived from 1778-1851.  Since then, the bracelets had been passed down through the family line until they were sold recently at the auction. Curiel told us that the stones themselves were probably worth around $100,000 but the provenance created the price.

Best regards from the studio. Spring is coming!

Diana

It’s no secret that I love pearls’ subtle colors and soft light. I love all the shapes and the mixed colors that happen randomly in many pearls. Admittedly, I wear mostly rounds and teardrop baroques but all the crazy shapes we used to cast aside are considered fun to wear and for good reason.

 

Strands can be worn at any length, with layering necklaces, or just as single, beautiful statements about your current mood: “I’m feeling cozy today” say the browns and taupes.  “I’m glamorous and sexy,” say the blacks and grays. “I’m aglow, lighthearted, and in a classic mode,” say the whites and pinks. “I’m chic and I like unconventional beauty.”

I found this chart that gives you a one-word color identifier for when you want to add some pearls to your collection but you’re not sure what to call them.

Your purple birthstone ranges from rich plums to pale lavender. It is the most beloved of all the quartzes and mined worldwide. Amethysts appear in royal jewel collections as well as in most of our personal jewelry collections.

 

The word amethyst comes from the Greek “amethystos” which means “remedy against drunkenness.” The very literal (in this case) Greeks figured that a purple, wine-colored stone should relate to Bacchus, the god of wine and profligate living. Since they did have a sense of proportionality, they assigned amethyst as a preventative against the consequences of too many bacchanalias. I’m not sure how the stone got assigned to February, but that’s another topic.

Other presumed amethyst powers: The wearer obtains personal empowerment, intelligence, and gets rid of evil thoughts.

The original source of amethyst was Russia. In the 19th century, a huge stash was found in Brazil, which is where we get most of our material from now, although Africa and other parts of South America (Uruguay, Bolivia) have gorgeous material. Amethyst resides in geodes that can be so large we can stand in them! Not to be outdone, Arizona has its own amethyst supply at Four Peaks.  There is amethyst in Arizona at Four Peaks, too.



Colors: rich purple with red or blue undertones, depending on the origin source, Brazil’s southern deposits contain lavender material as well as ametrine, the combination of amethyst and citrine that is really stunning in its most beautiful form.

Amethyst, like the other quartzes (citrine, rose quartz, crystal quartz) is relatively inexpensive on the gem price continuum, occurs in large, juicy sizes for jewelry, and complements every skin tone. You don’t have to be a February baby to love and enjoy it. I know lots of great carvers who use it with stunning results.

Best regards from the studio,
Diana

Garnets: Not Just Dark Red

Garnet, I serenade thee… Very few know your true glory as a gem is revealed in a breathtaking palette of hues. Citrus orange, sherry red, honeyed gold, raspberry, olive, plum, spearmint, lime, basil, blue, and pale, sea green and near-black. Fewer still realize that your sparkling radiance is higher than that of diamond...  In fact, one of the garnet species called "demantoid," means “diamond-like.” Although demantoid garnet is generally bright green, under light, it dances with abandon. One of my favorite things about garnets is that, like other gem species, they are not heat-treated to enhance or clarify them. They are simply Mother Nature’s gift to appreciating eyes.

For the Scientifically Curious

The deep red variety of garnet is most plentiful, occurring all over the world. Jewelry-grade garnets are most often found in the Earth’s crust. They can also be found in streams, in deep-source magma formations, and in weathered soil erosions. In fact, the presence of garnets is used as an indicator of diamonds during the diamond mining process.

Garnets are Diamonds’ Best Friends

Since they occur in the Earth’s mantle as well as its crust, a deep volcanic eruption sends rough garnet and diamond crystals up toward the Earth’s crust in a series of xenoliths, which are large clusters of rock that coalesce into “pipes.” These deep-source garnets are often huge and not the more refined variety found in the crust. Geologists use deep-source garnet clusters, as markers on the search for diamonds.

Industrial Use of Garnets… But I Digress

For the past 150 years or so, low-grade garnets have been used as industrial abrasive material. Garnet granules used with forced water offer an effective sandblasting media, which is used to smooth out brick, stone, and remove oxides from metal. Tiny garnet particles also act as effective filtration material.

Here, for your viewing pleasure, are some glorious examples of cut garnet.

We are all accustomed to reading reviews of products and businesses, the arts, politics, real estate, and anything else we might be consuming physically or emotionally. As a society, we care so fervently about events and things outside ourselves, but how often do we turn to those we love and just tell them how wonderful they are and why we think so?

Every year, I indulge myself this way with you, my clients and friends, business supporters all. I am honored that you trust me to create things that you will wear on your person. Each of these pieces signifies some benchmark in your life, whether it is birth, marriage, birthday, heirloom, or just plain heart’s desire.

You are attorneys, ballerinas, nurses, artists, organizers, realtors, ceramicists, skin care specialists, and artificial intelligence students. You are smart, funny, ethical, colorful, loving, modest, quiet, sturdy, vigorous, and thoughtful. You are detail-oriented, artistic, and just plain fun. You make the world a better place and you certainly cause me to love what I do.

I tend to operate a bit under the radar but believe me when I say that it is sunny and busy in the studio. So thank you from the bottom to the top of my heart. I wish all of us health, joy, and an easier year ahead.

Warmest regards,
Diana

Clients bringing heirloom pieces for renewal always tell the story behind the piece. We talk about possibilities for design and then we settle in to talk about the former owners…mother, grandmother, aunt, father, best friend… We talk about who they were in the scope of your life and in doing so, we honor that person. That love is folded into the new piece we make.

One of my clients, Cadey, wrote such an articulate essay about her grandmother that I was moved to tears. We very recently redesigned Grandma Caddy’s diamond ring into a pendant for Cadey and we have saved the setting for future work. With her permission, I share the story to celebrate love and its bonds through time and space.

I last wrote to you about layering your jewelry and promised you some concrete advice. Just to remind you, I told you that:

“We want to be distinctive, comfortable, and creative. We want our style to be easy and a la mode without being too crazy. We want it to last till we are sick of it and we mostly prefer quality with some junk thrown in for good measure."

What works: Joie de vivre

If you like light necklaces and pendants, then wear three or four at a time. Shown here is a client who owns many of my colored gem pieces.

She’s gotten attached to the peach sapphire pendants and wore them every day during the pandemic. I don’t think she takes them off. When she picked up the Montana sapphire Cascade necklace, she just “had” to wear it. I know this could be confusing for some of us, but I have lots of clients who just wear what resonates as part of their style or their “gear.” The group of pieces around her neck are all gold and fine sapphires. They do coordinate because they either contrast or pick up colors scattered throughout the other necklaces.

This wear-it-all-together idea works really well when we combine pearls and chains, beads with small pendants, or two different ropes of pearls. Shown here is a 50” strand of akoya pearls with an antique, French gold chain.

These two necklaces can be wrapped to different lengths and their contrast lusters complement one another. If you don’t have some very long chains or pearls in your collection, give me a call. It’s a fun, hot look.

What works: Old and New

Here you see like pieces of differing lengths. This works because they are related in weight and scale, yet different enough in texture or color to make a statement.

Wrists, too: Wide, narrow, different, similar… it’s all good!

In the bracelet photo, I’m layering a hammered pure silver cuff, a 22KT curb chain, and a teeny accent chain that I never take off. Clearly, this combo works because of the contrasting metal color, the textural subtleties, and varying widths.

So, to sum up, a few tips: When layering, vary the textures so that each piece stands out but together, they are having a dialogue. This works really well when chains are all one color of metal, or related in feeling, or are the same style but different colors.

Create relationships through color, texture, and style. If one piece is pearl, use a pearl somewhere else in the collection. Or, if one piece is diamond, use one other piece that has something white or shiny in it to relate back to the diamond.

Think about scale and coordinate a variety of scales if you are using a large necklace or bracelet as the starting point.

Or, wear what you want and be happy. There are really no rules.

Hugs from the studio,
Diana