Sotheby’s Debuts Sale of Jewels by Black Designers

RAPAPORT… Sotheby’s will host its first sale dedicated solely to Black jewelry designers, featuring custom-made and signature pieces from 21 participants.

The exhibition, Brilliant & Black: A Jewelry Renaissance, will take place live in New York from September 17 to 26, with the pieces available for immediate purchase in-person, the auction house said last week. The jewelry can also be bought on the Sotheby’s Buy Now online marketplace between September 17 and October 10.

Sotheby’s curated the sale together with jewelry writer, author and stylist Melanie Grant. It will feature approximately 60 pieces spanning periods and styles from the 1950s to the present, with prices ranging from $1,500 to $1 million.

“This show represents a shift in thinking from ‘African-inspired’ to Black talent being the inspiration,” said Grant. “I think we’ll look back at this moment as a game changer, amplifying the often overlooked, and sometimes underappreciated talents and stories of Black jewelry designers. These pieces have a depth of meaning which is emotional and important. With this exhibition, we hope to introduce these designers to a new audience of enthusiasts and collectors and to dismantle the boundaries that still exist.”

Artists to be featured in the sale include Art Smith, Winifred Mason Chenet, Harwell Godfrey, Lorraine West, Thelma West, Almasika, Melanie Eddy, Sheryl Jones Jewels, and Maggi Simpkins.

Image: A necklace by designer Harwell Godfrey, featuring Muzo emeralds, black and white onyx and white diamonds in 18-karat yellow gold. (Sotheby’s)