Latest news with #highjewelry
CNN
4 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Rarity over perfection: Why jewelers are championing ‘ugly' gems
Using the scientific precision of terms like 'IF Type IIa'— to describe diamonds so pure they show no inclusions under 10x magnification — jewelry purveyors have long placed heavy emphasis on the clarity and cut of a gem. The sharper the facet and flawless the sparkle, the more valuable a stone once appeared. Until now. Once dismissed as 'ugly ducklings' — too marked, too dark, or too strange — imperfect gems are now stepping into the spotlight, as high-end jewelers increasingly champion stones with unique inclusions or less-than-perfect clarity. An early adopter was Pomellato. Five years ago, the Milanese jewelry company, took a bold leap when it launched its first high jewelry collection — one that turned away from the canonical 'big four' (diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds) and featured stones that do not sparkle and are sometimes not even cut. It's an approach that the house has continued to take, as it seeks to carve out a unique aesthetic in a crowded high jewelry market that includes fashion houses such as Dior, Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana and Gucci. Among Pomellato's most recent creations is a necklace of large, smooth aquamarines, unfaceted and softly contoured — as if shaped by the sea itself — crossed by diamond threads that mimic a sailor's rope catching precious underwater pebbles. Another necklace, inspired by Milan's night sky, suspends a smoky star composed of grey sapphires and spinels. 'At Pomellato, we don't divide gemstones by the traditional categories of 'precious' and 'semi-precious,' or by how expensive they are,' explained the company's gem master Stefano Cortecci. 'We treat all stones equally — each has its own identity, its own beauty. What matters is how the stone is used and how it's cut.' A trained geologist from a family of university professors in the field, Cortecci was never a conventional gem buyer when he joined Pomellato nearly two decades years ago. Rather than sourcing only cut and polished stones — as is standard in the trade — he began selecting raw gems, asking cutters to shape them according to new aesthetic criteria developed in collaboration with creative director Vincenzo Castaldo. 'In jewelry, everything is often very symmetrical, right? Diamonds have 57 facets cut symmetrically. At Pomellato, the gem we call 'Nudo' also has 57 facets, but they are not symmetrical; they are random and the perception is totally different,' Cortecci said. Sharing a similar enthusiasm for unusual gems is Brazilian jeweler Ara Vartanian, who has made upside-down black diamonds (the point faces up instead of the usual faceted top) his signature. 'I never thought of inclusions (trapped materials that get encapsulated inside a diamond during its formation) as problems,' he told CNN. Born into a family of gem dealers, Vartanian often accompanied his father to business meetings, where he found himself drawn not to the top-tier stones displayed for discussion but to those set aside in a corner — the 'imperfect' ones reserved for clients with limited budgets. When he launched his brand some twenty years ago, the lower prices of black diamonds and flawed stones also became a practical advantage. 'My father thought I was being rebellious by choosing black diamonds and setting them point-up (the reverse setting flips the gem, exposing its pointed side),' Vartanian recalls. 'I was not. For me, it came from love — I thought they were beautiful, even when they didn't meet traditional standards. And I soon found that clients shared my enthusiasm and believed that my approach was refreshing. Different.' Unusual gemstones are also increasingly being embraced by emerging jewelry designers as the cornerstone of their storytelling. Belgian designer Dries Criel, based in Antwerp, uses tiger's eye in rich toffee hues as the focal point of bold creations like a scarab-shaped ring. 'I was intrigued by the gem's symbolism — protection, courage, and clarity of vision. For me, it became a symbol of personal empowerment,' he wrote to CNN over email. Other designers are similarly turning to lesser-known stones, which they believe have poetic or emotional resonance. Moonstone — named for its resemblance to the soft, cloudy light of the moon — anchors British jewelry label Anoona's Lunar collection. Ananya Malhotra, founder of her namesake jewelry brand Ananya, believes that gemstones possess healing properties; her designs incorporate a luminous brown agate, known as Sulemani Aqeeq, which is said to bring joy and balance. Meanwhile, Swiss independent jeweler Cora Sheibani highlighted smoky quartz — 'the neglected poorer cousin of rock crystal, amethyst, and citrine,' she quipped — in her latest collection. And Milanese jeweler Villa Milano uses tourmalinated quartz — rock crystal threaded with dark inclusions — and even volcanic stones in earrings and cufflinks. The popularity of unconventional stones signals a broader shift in consumer behavior. More women are now buying jewelry for themselves, often valuing design and emotional resonance over traditional notions of investment — contrasting with male buyers who typically view jewelry as a store of value or a gift, according to several jewelry executives interviewed by CNN. At Pomellato, for example, around 70% of clients are women, said Cortecci, despite the market being long dominated by male purchasers. 'Seeking uniqueness' is one of the key motivators for shoppers to buy unusual gems, said Claudia D'Arpizio, a partner at Bain & Company, who leads its luxury goods vertical. The growing popularity of lab-grown diamonds and the current economic landscape also play a part. In response to the flawless uniformity of lab-grown diamonds, traders of natural gems increasingly emphasize the rarity — rather than the perfection — of stones, with natural imperfections becoming a selling point. D'Arpizio also noted that sourcing traditional, high-grade stones is becoming more difficult due in part to restrictions on Russian diamonds and rising competition in the jewelry sector. 'Jewelry is characterized by high material costs, especially gold, and limited scalability. Using non-standard stones allows brands to create more accessible or distinctive pieces without proportionally increasing raw material expenses,' she explained. But for Munich-based family-run jeweler Hemmerle, which has long embraced diamonds in unconventional hues as part of its erudite visual language, there is no such thing as imperfection. 'Diamonds don't need to sparkle, they have to speak,' said Christian Hemmerle, the fourth generation in the business (today, he leads the company alongside his wife Yasmin). 'If the color is beautiful, that's enough — even with inclusions. After all, in everyday life, nobody looks at a gem through a microscope.'
Vogue
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Vogue
Alexander Skarsgard, Zoe Saldana, and Co. Join Cartier in Stockholm for a High Jewelry Affair
Cartier feted the debut of its newest high jewelry collection, En Equilibre, in Stockholm last night. The collection showcased the jewelry house's approach to balance: no overwhelming metalwork, space for the impressive stones to breathe in the designs, and a purposeful use of color and form to accentuate and complement each element of the pieces. The Cartier high jewelry collection. Photo: Courtesy of Cartier The Cartier high jewelry collection. Photo: Courtesy of Cartier The exhibition, tucked up an impressive staircase from the water's edge, was bookended by activations, one showcasing artisans hard at work, the other the Swedish art of fika, or coffee, sweet treats, and conversation. Another surprising element was the stone room, which showcased a selection of exceptional stones not yet made into a jewelry piece. Suggested designs sat alongside the gems, but the final creations will ultimately be up to the client and whichever paraibas, corals, sapphires, diamonds, or emeralds she, or he, desires. Alexander Skarsgard, fresh from the Cannes Film Festival, in a Cartier panthère brooch. Photo: Courtesy of Cartier For the evening portion, guests arrived via boat and walked up a trail through the scenic woods, the modern gallery appearing out of almost nowhere. Friends of the house Zoe Saldana and Deepika Padukone both wore impressive pieces from the collection, Padukone opting for a necklace with a 58.08-carat cabochon sapphire center stone surrounded by a rippling of diamonds, and Saldana, a more colorful set of emeralds and spinels. Shogun actress Anna Sawai dazzled in a rubelite and diamond set, while local guest Alexander Skarsgard, fresh from the Cannes Film Festival where his outfits were the talk of the town, chose a brooch pinned at his shirt collar—a hunk of yellow beryl in the paws of the Cartier panthère. All four seemed happy to engage with the global media in attendance.
Vogue
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Vogue
It Sicily, Bulgari Shows off Its High Jewelry 'Millionaire Pieces' and More
The 241.06 carat emerald Priyanka Chopra wore to the 2025 Met Gala was included in the vast Polychroma collection unveiled by Bulgari in Sicily last night. The 250 piece collection boasts 60 of what the brand calls 'millionaire pieces'—high jewelry and watches that retail for over a million euros—as well as high jewelry bags designed by Mary Katranzou (a white clutch with a Roman Coin Monete set in gold and diamonds had sold by cocktail hour). Three one-of-a-kind fragrances in Murano glass, diamond, and fine gemstone bottles were also in the mix. The new offering leans into Bulgari's heritage as the authority on colorful jewelry, utilizing 56 different gemstones in both new designs and riffs on the house codes. Within the collection are five standout pieces of exceptional size, expanding on the success of last year's 40 million euro seven-diamond necklace. As with all the high jewelry unveilings, the biggest clients get the first spin around the year's new pieces. Sales were well underway a few hours into the opening and one of the five extra large necklaces (known internally as 'the splash necklace' due to the diamond design surrounding the center stone looking exactly as descrbied) had found a home. Regardless of high prices, Bulgari's Creative Director Lucia Silvestri has devoted herself to making the pieces more wearable, articulated, and comfortable on the body. She is also focused on transformable pieces—items that can be worn in varying ways to get more use from the owner. A necklace with two pear-shaped morganite pendants, for example, can morph into two statement earrings and a more simple necklace. The opening day of the brand's 10-day celebration in Taormina came in two parts: First came the showroom presentation of jewelry, bags, watches, and fragrance at the San Domenico Palace—the White Lotus, Sicily for us lay people (the piano player was indeed at the cocktail bar the night before, alive and well). It was followed by a dinner further up into town at the Grand Timeo hotel and a performance at the Greco Roman amphitheater next door—a cultural feat for the brand, which worked with local Sicilian authorities and the Italian government to secure the location and also pitched in on the restoration of two other Sicilian culture points.
Forbes
11-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Jeweler Margot McKinney Opens Her First U.S. Boutique In Beverly Hills
The entrance to the new Margot McKinney boutique in the Peninsula Beverly Hills hotel Margot McKinney opened her first boutique in the United States in the Peninsula Beverly Hills hotel. It is a continuation of the expansion for the Australian high jewelry brand in the U.S. and other markets. In February McKinney opened a pop-up space in Bergdorf-Goodman. In May she participated in the prestigious TEFAF Maastricht international art, design and antiques fair in The Netherlands. While McKinney has been more visible the past year or two, the fourth-generation jeweler is a familiar name in rarified circles that value high jewelry. Her impressive jewels, charitable contributions, and her overall personality and charm has earned her a United Kingdom royal 'Order of Merit,' recognizing her distinguished service in art and the promotion of culture. In the U.S., her jewels have been in several Neiman Marcus stores and at Bergdorf Goodman since 2007. The new Margot McKinney boutique features leopard print chairs, an antique desk with a restored ... More leather writing surface in sky blue, and a wall finished in teal chinoiserie-inspired wallpaper with botanical and exotic bird motifs The Beverly Hills boutique is also McKinney's first outside her flagship boutique, called 'The Green Door,' in her home of Queensland, Australia. McKinney said her recent outreach has created strong growth for her high jewelry creations and increased opportunities to expand. 'It is a thrill to be opening my first independent Margot McKinney store outside of Australia, and an honor for it to be located within the incomparable Peninsula Beverly Hills,' McKinney said in a statement. 'This is a milestone moment in the 141-year history of the McKinney family business, and I could not have asked for a more fitting environment to showcase my jewelry to a whole new group of collectors.' Margot McKinney's new boutique has the brand's signature 'Kelly Green' gloss lacquer and a ... More gold-colored ceiling dome The interior is presented in her signature 'Kelly Green" gloss lacquer on the cabinetry and trim with an eclectic curation of antique and contemporary furniture and fittings. A recessed ceiling dome highlighted in gold presides over an area furnished with leopard print chairs, an antique desk with a restored leather writing surface in sky blue, discreet wall-mounted lamps with mirrored sconces, and a wall finished in teal chinoiserie-inspired wallpaper with botanical and exotic bird motifs. McKinney also noted that the new boutique also complements 'the Peninsula's elegant style allure.' Several of McKinney's most important one-of-a-kind creations will be in the boutique, including the Marina collier, created by McKinney for her debut at TEFAF Maastricht. It features a massive 241.14-carat cushion-cut green beryl and a large baroque pearl suspended from a 65.72-carat aquamarine. If that's not enough, the elaborate, colorful jewel boasts an arrangement of green tourmaline, small diamonds, rare baroque South Sea pearls, sapphires, aquamarines, Paraiba tourmalines and tsavorites. A sampling of the bold, colorful gem-centric jewels in the new Margot McKinney boutique. McKinney is known for her classic jewelry creation made with spectacular gems and pearls from Australia and other parts of the world. Her pearl jewels are especially noteworthy. All her pieces are made with South Sea pearls, considered by many to be the world's most coveted pearls. The pearls all come from a single source as each year McKinney buys the entire inventory from pearl farmer, Aji Ellies Wimilirantna. Her bold, colorful creations also use Australian opals, and exquisite gemstones including diamonds, sapphires and tanzanites. McKinney says the pieces in the new boutique provide an introduction to the breadth of her creations for those previously unfamiliar with her work. The new Margot McKinney store will be open seven days per week at The Peninsula Beverly Hills.
Vogue
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Vogue
On the French Riviera, a Shower of Opals and Opulence Courtesy of Dior High Jewelry
With her latest high jewelry collection, called Diorexquis, Victoire de Castellane brought it all back home—literally and figuratively, creatively and personally. True to form, the creative director of Dior jewelry, unveiled a jubilant, playful celebration of color and couture, now amped up with some unexpected materials and lesser-known jewelry-making techniques. It all started with the fragile, fiery, oft-neglected opal—Castellane's forever favorite because it contains all of nature's colors, she explained. From there, she turned her painter's eye to other materials and techniques, broadening her palette with lacquer or plique-à-jour enameling, which produces a stained-glass effect. Diamonds became lace-like overlays or frames for gemstone couture gowns on panels in aventurine glass, a material borrowed from high watchmaking. Using a technique called doublet, she slipped mother-of-pearl or onyx under the opals to play up their natural color fields. As for the bucolic scenes: for all their technical prowess, those were actually rooted in the digital Stone Age. 'When I was little, I used to play with a View-Master for hours on end and spend my time dreaming over old Hollywood films from the '50s and '60s, so these pieces are sort of a precious extension of that,' she quipped. Models pose alongside the Château de la Colle Noire in Provence's reflecting pools. Photo: Courtesy of Dior The runway show featured 163 jewels and 25 couture creations by Maria Grazia Chiuri. Photo: Courtesy of Dior The 'Diorette' high jewelry necklace-slash-lipstick case was created at the suggestion of Peter Philips, creative and image director of Christian Dior makeup. Photo: Courtesy of Dior On Friday, for the first time, Dior hosted the event at its private estate, the Château de la Colle Noire in Provence, where chairman and CEO Delphine Arnault welcomed about 300 VIC guests—most bedecked and bejeweled in Dior creations—for a gala evening. Though this was the founding couturier's last and likely grandest residence, it was also the one where he hoped to live out his days in tranquil simplicity, tending his roses and 'forgetting Christian Dior to become just Christian again,' he wrote in his memoirs. As it turned out, the setting was a discovery for Castellane, too. 'I've only ever seen it in pictures,' she said. 'It's very poetic and nostalgic, like a bygone world in a region that's mythical in so many ways, from the expat years of a century ago to the glamour of its present and for all the emotion it conjures. I would have loved to see it in Dior's day; what a weeklong vacation might have looked like with guests like Jean Cocteau, Mitzah Bricard, and Christian Bérard.' If only those walls could talk. As it was, the ivy-covered façades spoke volumes as the backdrop for an evening that opened with champagne and cocktails in the garden and unfurled into dinner with custom tablescapes by Dior Maison creative director Cordelia de Castellane, a menu by the Michelin three-star chef Mauro Colagreco, and a surprise appearance by the South African soprano Pretty Yende, who performed Puccini's 'O Mio Babbino Caro' and a few other favorites. Opals are Victoire de Castellane's forever favorite because they contain all of nature's colors. Photo: Courtesy of Dior Maria Grazia's creations were striking yet pared back enough to accommodate a single statement necklace or a pileup of jewels, with perhaps a diamond rivière, a pearl sautoir, or brooch at the waist, or a slither of diamonds at the ankle. Photo: Courtesy of Dior And that was just the prelude to the evening's main event: a runway show of the 163 jewels in Diorexquis, and 25 couture creations by Maria Grazia Chiuri, staged around an ornamental reflecting pool that, at 45 meters, stops just shy of Olympic dimensions. The creative director of Dior women's collections struck a regal note with an opulent lineup of painted, embroidered, woven, and beaded looks in velvet. 'She understands how dresses can also be the setting for jewels, and she knows that I consider velvet the most beautiful fabric for them,' Castellane offered.
