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Ruby and diamond necklace, featuring 34 burmese no heat certified rubies (total weight 86.77 cts).
Image courtesy of Assil New York.
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... Estate Jewelry in the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Shows also displayed glowing rubies in pear shape cabochons, while Art Deco jewelry was at its best with vivid and colorful pieces.
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Ruby and diamond brooch, circa 1930, France, featuring a total of 30 cts diamond and 57 cts ruby.
Image courtesy of Paul Fisher, Inc.
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A very different color trend could also be seen in other parts of the Vegas shows: The greenish blue hues of aquamarine, chrysoprase, (a gemstone variety of chalcedony apple-green colored by small quantity of nickel), the light green of hiddenite and the olive green of peridot. The most sought after color, the bluest hues, is in these translucent or slightly opaque stones. As for the green as for hiddenites and peridot, the most transparent and shiny gems are preferred.
At the Couture show, women, wearing these new “blue creations, had the gorgeous look of modern bohemians.
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Dangling chrysoprase earring and necklace.
Images courtesy of Dima.
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Last but not least, at the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Shows, coral appeared as a very hot trend among the items in exhibition.
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Coral and diamond Sterle brooch circa 1965.
Photo by Delphine Leblanc, courtesy of Neil Marrs.
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Coral turquoise and diamond David Webb brooch.
Photo by Delphine Leblanc, courtesy of Neil Marrs.
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Turquoise has also made a very strong comeback, especially among antique jewelry dealers. This trend hearkens back to the 1960’s and 1970’s when turquoise was commonly used in beautiful matching sets by the Paris ‘ Place Vendome Jewelers and high end American jewelry designers.
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Turquoise and diamond necklace and bracelet, by Chaumet.
Photo by Delphine Leblanc, courtesy of Paul Fisher Inc.
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American Designers of the 60’s and 70’s were particularly well represented at the Antique show with a special emphasis to fashionable large brooches.
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Peridot turquoise and diamond brooch Schlumberger.
Photo by Delphine Leblanc, courtesy of Neil Marrs.
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Slideshow credits see below article...
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Vegas 2008 shows, it is all about orange!
By Delphine Leblanc GG.
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This year again, the Vegas show was one of the most important event in the industry, especially for jewelry retailers from the USA and from the 71 other countries registered for event (according to JCK Organization). The show delivered buzz and excitement with nine locations across the city, including the most prestigious are the AGTA. The JCK, the Couture and the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Shows. Not only was there a huge variety of equipment, tools, gemstones and beads, but additionally, for retailers, there was a massive selection of jewelry from commercial manufacturers to the most exclusive brands and “edgiest” designers.
Though retailers worldwide are challenged by current economic conditions, attendance at the show was excellent. The JCK and AGTA floors were filled with activity for the duration of the show and many dealers said they were had been pleasantly surprised by the amount of business.
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Registration the first day of JCK show.
Image courtesy of JCK Events.
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Cutting to the chase, let’s look at the trends of the 2008 Vegas show: this year was all about fierce colors such as red, orange and pink shades. Another trend: light greenish blues and the light greens were seen in abundance. These trends could be seen across the range -- from stones dealers to jewelry designers and even antique dealers!
Let’s start with the gemstones in some of these vibrant hues: fire opals from Brazil are now coming strong in the market
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Fire Opals from Brazil.
Photo by Delphine Leblanc, courtesy of Ben Sabbagh Bros.
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Much imperial topaz appeared, straight from Brazil. They have these amazing peach hues adding up with the clarity and brilliance characteristic of topaz.
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Imperial topaz 15.83 ct.
Image courtesy of Bill Larson Palagem Int.
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No longer mistaken for rubies, spinels are considered today as a beautiful stone in themselves. Therefore, they are more sold in matched sets and in beautiful necklaces. Buyers appreciate their warm and vivid colors but also the fact that the stones are untreated.
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Spinel and diamond necklace, featuring 155.95 cts spinel and 20.00 cts diamond.
Photo by Delphine Leblanc, courtesy of Agapoff.
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Still for a few aficionados, conch pearls are in some abundance in the market right now. Conch pearls are formed within the digestive track of several varieties of shells. However the gem-quality conch pearls most widely seen are from large sea snails shells. The true conch larger species is the Strombus Gigas is found in the Caribbean Sea, along the coast of Belize. These conch pearls come in different shapes with colors ranging from white to yellow to pink. It is impossible to cultivate conch pearls. Therefore, pearls above 2 carats are extremely rare and matching a pair is a challenging and costly assignment. The most desirable color on the market today is the so-called ‘bubble-gum color’, a rich orangy-pink color doubled with a flame effect. Conch pearls are sought by an increasing number of jewelry designers for their tender and feminine looks. ...
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Conch pearl and diamond ring by Mikimoto.
Image courtesy of Mikimoto.
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Conch pearl and diamond spacers necklace.
Image courtesy of Pacific Coast Pearls.
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... Even more exclusive and increasingly rare are the Padparadschas. The term is used in the trade to describe natural sapphires with a pinkish-orange to orangy-pink hue, with a low to medium saturation and light tone and was mined originally in Sri Lanka. Padparadsha type sapphires are also found in deposits in Vietnam and Africa but remain scarce and highly valued for their subtle and rare color. Along with rubies they are the only corundums to be given their own name instead of being grouped with sapphires of other colors.
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10.82 cts star padparadsha.
Photo courtesy of Bill Larson Palagem Int.
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This colorful trend is being adopted by the jewelry designers who are often using small gemstones or briolette. They are transforming women into urban gypsies thanks to dangling earrings made of colorful briolettes.
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Gurhan earrings.
Images courtesy of Gurhan.
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Think big, think tourmaline. The deep pink color of tourmaline and the lively aspect of the stone provide a strong and powerful look!
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126.17 cts tourmaline ring.
Images courtesy of Agapoff.
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The flamboyant Paula Crevoshay dazzled the Couture Salon with her one-of-a-kind pieces using this large opal carving from Lawrence Stoller, featuring more fire opals, red spinels and citrines.
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‘Eternal Flame’ pendant necklace, featuring fire opals, spinels and citrines.
Image courtesy of Paula Crevoshay.
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Red is always a highly desirable hue and ruby will always make the most glowing ornament as seen in this magnificent ruby and diamond necklace. ...
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Slideshow credits:
01 - Las Vegas Impression © Image courtesy of Forty Two GbR. Zink / Lohmeyer
02 – 3.31 and 4.21 cts cushion-cut demantoid garnet among rough demantoid garnets. Photo by Jeff Scovil, courtesy of Bill Larson, Pala International.
03 – 18.41 cts emerald-cut aquamarine. Photo by Wimon Manorotkul, courtesy of Bill Larson, Pala International.
04 – 15.39 cts rectangle modified-cut bi-color tourmaline. Photo by Wimon Manorotkul, courtesy of Bill Larson, Pala International.
05 – 73.95 cts intense orange spessartite 12 oval-cut garnet suite. Photo by Wimon Manorotkul, courtesy of Bill Larson, Pala International.
06 – JCK Las Vegas buyers shopping the show. Photo courtesy of JCK Events.
07 – JCK Las Vegas jewelry fashion show. Photo courtesy of JCK Events.
08 - Las Vegas Impression © Image courtesy of Forty Two GbR. Zink / Lohmeyer
09 – 23 cts round modified cut Malaya garnet and a rough garnet. Photo by Jeff Scovil, courtesy of Bill Larson, Pala International.
10 – Orange sapphire ring in a diamond set 18KT yellow gold mounting, ‘La Reine’. Photo courtesy of NAFCO, Ltd.
11 – Pink sapphire and diamond pin/pendant in 18KT white gold mounting, ‘The Butterfly’. Photo courtesy of NAFCO, Ltd.
12 – Orange sapphire, tsavorite and diamond pin/pendant set in 18KT black rhodium finish mounting, ‘Lilium’. Photo courtesy of NAFCO, Ltd.
13 – 10.10 cts emerald-cut spessartite garnet. Photo by Wimon Manorotkul, courtesy of Bill Larson, Pala International.
14 – 2.91 cts oval-cut sunstone. Photo by Wimon Manorotkul, courtesy of Bill Larson, Pala International.
15 – 9.57 cts pear-shate cut imperial topaz. Photo by Wimon Manorotkul, courtesy of Bill Larson, Pala International.
Author
Delphine Leblanc - delphineangele@yahoo.com .
© Created by ICA Gem Bureau Idar-Oberstein
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