Arts Design

BEAUTIFUL SAPPHIRE JEWELRY

Alexandre Reza. Sapphire and diamond ring.

Like a royal blue cherry atop a whipped cream mound of 101 diamonds, the 52 carat untreated Burmese sapphire sits and dares you to look away. It’s breathtaking. It is “Nina,” a ring designed by one of the greatest jewelry designers of the 21st Century, Alexandre Reza. He has a special love affair with sapphires, and with this one in particular. He refuses to sell it.

Photo: Alexandre Reza. Sotheby's Exhibition

Reza has been designing jewelry around exceptional gemstones for over 40 years. It will be celebrated at the Extraordinary Jewels of Alexandre Reza exhibition, which debuts at Sotheby's New York this November. It will coincide with Sotheby's autumn auctions of Contemporary, Impressionist and Modern Art.

On view, you will see 25 of some of his greatest works. One of the highlights of the exhibition includes Reza's untreated Ceylon sapphire brooch, set with an oval 134ct sapphire mounted on a gold clip.

While Reza is now retired, his son, Olivier Reza, is carrying on the jewelry design legacy with exciting new designs. Olivier helped to curate the exhibition. In 2014, the exhibition will travel to Sotheby's offices around the world, including Beijing, Doha and London.

Photo: Courtesy of Harry Winston.

Another jewelry making icon, Harry Winston, weighs in with “Sunset,” a stunning ring, platinum set with an 18.51 carat cushion-cut sapphire, flanked by 6 diamond baguettes, totaling 1.25 carat. Harry Winston is also known for glorifying exceptional gemstones by designing unique pieces around each one. The settings are beautiful in the way they retreat, almost to invisibility, letting the stones be the stars of the show.

Photo: Courtesy of Lorenz Baumer. Citrine and Sapphire Ring

Shifting down the the color spectrum, this spectacular yellow Sapphire and Citrine ring, designed by Lorenz Baumer, is a stunner. Baumer’s creative use of color and modern organic shapes sets his work apart. Trained as an engineer, his designs are self-described as the “intersection of architecture and poetry.”

Photo: Courtesy of Wallace Chan. “Fish’s Dream”

“Fish’s Dream,” by Wallace Chan, is a veritable explosion of color, set with sapphires, amethysts, opals, and mother of pearl. It’s a fantasy piece that represents a unique story, as all of Chan’s pieces do. Known for his Wallace Cut and his revolutionary titanium jewelry techniques, Chan is an inspiring sculptor and master jeweler. His work is on display at world class museums and galleries. He has decorated royals and celebrities. Precious stones fascinate him, and what he does with them fascinates us. He goes for drama, often using montage effects to tell the story.

Photo: Courtesy of Christie’s

As we move into sapphire pavé, the superlative is JAR’s Sapphire and Diamond ball earclip set, designed for Elizabeth Taylor. JAR, nee Joel Arthur Rosenthal, produces only about 60 pieces a year. It’s hard to get in to see him. And he gets to decide if you look good enough in his pieces or not. If not, he takes them back -- he won’t let you wear them. His workshop in Paris’ Place Vendôme has no display window, no regular hours. It does not advertise and opens its doors to only a select few. The few are usually celebs and socialites, Elle Macpherson, Barbara Walters, Ann Getty, Mary Pinault and Jo Carole Lauder.

JAR items routinely sell for twice what the first buyer paid. Rosenthal was a screenwriter before he launched into his jewelry designing career. He dabbled in needlepoint and his colored yarns became his inspiration for his work with colored jewels.

JAR’s pavé settings are so finely executed, they are practically invisible. Unlike other jewelers, he uses a dark metal alloy for the settings to highlight the gems’ color.

Photo: Courtesy of Sotheby’s.

We can’t talk about sapphire pavé without presenting La Rose De Bourbon by Michele Della Valle.

Photo: Courtesy of Polly Wales.

Almost like an ultracontemporary pavé, this stunning ring by award winning designer Polly Wales is crafted from Black Sapphire and 18 carat gold. Wales sets the rubies and sapphires of her pieces directly into the gold, and her designs stem from a desire to cause the metals and stones to feel as if one. They feel as though they have been created by nature vs by human.

Her handcrafted artistry is also available for private commissions.

Photo: Courtesy of Carrie Bilbo.

From polished sublime to raw guts, we now delight in the cone shaped rings designed by Carrie Bilbo. Raw chunks of blue, pink and yellow sapphire punctate the tips of these statement pieces. Bilbo’s concept was to “encapsulate peoples’ fears.” But they don’t look scary to us. They look fresh, clean, and ready to rock. They are made to order.

Photo: Courtesy of Barneys NY.

If you want to go rough and funky, check out the Rough Sapphire ring, designed by Sandra Dina for Barney’s. This giant rough sapphire is set in 12k gold, with handsculpted gold and silver bands.

Photo: Courtesy of Divine Guidance 944.

Here’s a raw sapphire nugget. Already showing off its beauty.

Sapphire is a member of the corundum family, which includes both ruby and sapphire. It comes in every color but red. But the ultimate is the vivid blue. It is mined in Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Australia, Kashmir, Burma, Thailand, Tanzania, Kenya, and the US.

It’s hard to find a sapphire that hasn’t been treated these days. But it’s worth the hunt. And the price. Sapphire comes from the Greek word for blue, sappheiros. It is the original true blue, symbolizing trust and loyalty. Sapphires are second only to diamonds in levels or hardness. It ranks 9 on the Mohs scale.

Read about the beauty of Sapphire all this week, as it relates to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact, including Sapphire Soul, a piece about ethical mining, New Sapphire Pages, a new collection of books featuring sapphires, Sapphire Science Rocks!, the new science and technology of sapphires, and Sapphire Delectables…. yes, these are edible!