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From Cartier rarities to Georgian curiosities, 2025 proved to be a year of remarkable discoveries for estate-jewelry specialists. Across the US, dealers encountered pieces that surprised them, led them to collaborate with other experts, and captured the attention of collectors almost instantly. We asked six leading voices in the trade to reflect on the standout vintage or antique jewels that defined their year.
A Lalique Wasp necklace
Adam Patrick
Managing director, A La Vieille Russie
“In the past few months, we sold a Lalique necklace with [carvings of] two opposing wasps, a motif that designer René Lalique used fairly often. There are a number of famous pieces that he made with this motif, such as a hat pin. But this particular one is quite rare. It’s set in gold with enamel batons on blackened green enamel, and was [featured] in René Lalique: Schmuck und Objets d’Art, 1890-1910 — a book by Sigrid Barton that really is the bible of Lalique pieces and drawings. Barton labeled it a ‘beetle necklace,’ but it is, in fact, a wasp. Necklaces by Lalique are very, very rare — and that’s the beauty of antique jewelry, because it’s not mass produced. [This piece] didn’t come to us through auction, but privately…. When we manage to sell to a private client, it’s very gratifying, unlike to a museum such as [New York’s] Metropolitan Museum of Art or [Paris’s] Musée des Arts Décoratifs…. This Lalique necklace deserves where it ended up.”
An Art Deco diamond rivière by Tiffany & Co.
Carrie Imberman
Copresident, Kentshire
“The piece that we get asked for the most is a rivière, really the most classic piece of jewelry. This necklace was the opening page of our catalogue: an important Art Deco diamond rivière by Tiffany & Co. with 30 carats of exceptionally well-matched diamonds. For us, an Art Deco rivière of European-cut, graduated diamonds is the ultimate wearable thing. Its simplicity is what makes it an exquisite object; in this case, it’s all about this river of extraordinary stones. You don’t have to be a jewelry or design maven to understand its appeal. When you have an American house — any high jewelry house — working at this level and at this time period, the owner in its day would have been somebody. A hundred years later, the client who now owns this necklace is on the younger side, somewhere in her 40s, and she wears it for dressy occasions or very playfully, layered. While this is an important necklace, the way people are wearing jewelry is much more casual. Which goes to prove a point I often make: Good design never goes bad.”
A suite of Belperron jewels
Dana Kraus
Founder and CEO, DK Farnum
“My inventory is really built on what I consider wearable jewelry; I buy things that speak to me and that, frankly, I would wear. When I saw this Belperron suite in Paris, I tried it on and loved it. I then had it certified by [Belperron specialist] Olivier Baroin, whose information from the archives told me everything I wanted to know. Sometime later, in November, I was doing a show in Philadelphia where I was the only estate-jewelry dealer. A couple came by, we began chatting, and I showed them the Belperron set. They were mesmerized. Moreover, it was quite well priced. (This was a month before the [December 2024 Magnificent Jewels] sale with a lot of Belperron at Christie’s.) And that speaks to what my business is built on: I’m not about price, I’m not a retailer; I do this because I love it. With this couple, the husband didn’t let on to his wife that he was going to buy this for her. I think it was six months later when he presented her with the Belperron. It was really romantic, really lovely. Frankly I hated to part with it. Happily, these people ended up buying an important piece of Van Cleef & Arpels as well, and continue to be clients.”
A heart-shaped black opal
Brad Wilson
Owner, Wilson’s Estate Jewelry
“An antique dealer called me earlier this year to say that he had a lot of antique jewelry and was I interested in making him an offer. Most of it was sort of run-of-the-mill — Victorian, Edwardian, some Art Deco pieces — but then he opened a box. Inside was a heart-shaped black opal with calibré-cut rubies and sapphires encompassing the heart. For one thing, I love opals and any heart-shaped jewelry — the sentimentality of it — but I don’t get my heart set on opals until I can loupe them. This opal was an entire opal, 6.4 carats — you could see the back, the light went right through it. There was no crazing, no cracks, and it had red-orange banding through the middle, with hues of blues and greens. It was a dream. There were no marks on it whatsoever. If I were to guess, I’d say it was American. So I made an offer on the entire lot so I could get the opal. The dealer said yes, not so much because of the price, but because he could see that I loved the opal. When we put it online, it sold a couple of months later.”
A Burmese-ruby Art Deco Cartier bracelet
Tibor Ullmann
Principal, Paul Fisher
“Over time, we’ve seen jewelry that goes in and out of fashion. When I began some 35 years ago, Art Deco was in vogue, and now it’s Bulgari. But there’s still value in these Art Deco pieces. Recently I acquired a Cartier bracelet from a private estate. The minute I picked it up, it had a French feel about it — a certain weight, a flexibility, and when I turned it over, I could see how beautifully it had been finished. With my loupe, I could tell right away that the rubies had never been removed. Frankly they looked amazing. Turns out it was Cartier Paris, really the best of the best. I had one of the rubies removed to examine it better, and it was perfect. Then I took it to my lapidary, and they came back as Burmese, no heat. So there I had eight perfectly matched, perfect rubies. I also had Olivier Bachet of the International Antique Jewelers Association (IAJA) certify it for me. In the end, we sold it to a collector I knew who would appreciate the bracelet, someone who not only collects Art Deco, but who loves rubies.”
(Editor’s note: For client confidentiality reasons, the piece is not pictured.)
A 1951 Belperron suite
Lee Siegelson
Owner, Siegelson
“This remarkable Belperron suite came from a prominent French collector. It was made in 1951, a great period for Belperron, and [came] in the original box. I had never seen it before, or in any books, and at that point, I’d only seen a little picture, and I thought it was great. I decided to fly to Paris, where I could see it in person and make the purchase. To me, it checks all the boxes. What further added to my interest was that Olivier Baroin had all the dates and could confirm that the brooch, the earrings and ring were all made in 1951. It’s what Olivier called ‘an unparalleled suite.’ He was able to gather some extraordinary detail about it, and that’s what is great about this cert. Not only could he prove that it was made by Belperron, who famously never signed her work, but he knew the dates and the family, [and] that the box was original. It’s unusual for him to have such a complete package of information. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cert by him that had so much detail. Tough to make an argument that it’s not a great example of her work.”
Main image, clockwise from top left: Adam Patrick, Carrie Imberman, Dana Kraus, Lee Siegelson, Tibor Ullmann and Brad Wilson. (A La Vieille Russie; Kentshire; DK Farnum; Paul Fisher; Siegelson, New York; Wilson’s Estate Jewelry)
