RAPAPORT…
Traffic was fairly steady — as were sales — but what made this year’s Couture show noteworthy for many exhibitors was the increased stream of potential new clients. Many designers said they were pleased to see existing customers, but also had met a number of new buyers from the U.S. and abroad, a telling sign that the worldwide economy may be finally turning.
The five-day event, held June 2 through 6 at the Wynn Las Vegas hotel, presented the jewelry and watches of 200 companies and attracted upscale buyers from around the globe, including Europe, Russia and South America. Overall, said designers, buyers were seeking unique collections and one-of-a-kind items to satisfy their sophisticated clientele.
Of course, with so many shows happening simultaneously in the city — the Antique Jewelry & Watch Show and the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) GemFair, along with the main event, the JCK Show — and at varied locations, traffic patterns were uneven throughout the five days of the show, depending on which other exhibition was beginning and which was ending. Overall, however, the organizers of Couture came away with positive feelings on traffic and sales.
Enthusiasm Among Exhibitors
First-time exhibitor A & Furst, St. Helena, California, was enthusiastic about the show. “We opened our company in 2008,” said the firm’s principal Kiki Furst Antonini, “not a very good time to start a business. But we had a fantastic year in 2010. We produce our collection in Italy, but sell exclusively to American clients. But at this show, we met buyers from Russia and Brazil.”
The collection, featuring rose-cut colored gemstones with diamond accents, begins at $1,500 retail, with the bulk of sales in the $5,000 to $15,000 range. New designs included gemstone tassel earrings with pavé tops and the “PicNic Collection” rings, with large colored stones in gold bezels with diamond pavé on the shanks.
Also making its debut at Couture 2011 was Marina B, New York, a reintroduction of the famed 1980s brand. Marina Bulgari, who designed jewelry for her family firm before striking out on her own with the signature Marina B collection, sold her business, archives and sketches to Windsor Jewels owner Paul Lubetsky. Some elaborate, iconic pieces remain in the line, but new, simpler designs based on her sketches also are being introduced. Retails begin around $3,000.
Longtime Couture exhibitor Paula Crevoshay, Albuquerque, New Mexico, whose one-of-a-kind colored gemstone fantasies have a strong following, said what sold best were the highest-priced pieces. Her Orchid and Butterflies collections of large, handmade brooches with rainbows of exotic gemstones almost sold out, the designer said. New for this show was a collection inspired by China, including carved jade and interlocking knot motifs in brilliant colored gemstones and diamonds. “This show has been fabulous,” she said. “By the third day, I had more than 15 new clients.”
Design Expression
Interestingly, while diamonds and diamond jewelry featured prominently in many collections, as did rainbows of pearls and colored gemstones, the hot categories this season were not any single gemstone or material. Rather, the designer’s expression and the unique quality of a collection resonated with buyers. As many exhibitors observed, women who already have a wardrobe of diamonds and colored gemstone jewelry are looking for something different from what they already own — and different from what their friends are wearing.
A collection that surely fills that bill is that of Arunashi, Los Angeles. Designer Arun Bohra creates top-of-the-line jewelry of titanium and blackened gold with rich-colored gemstones such as tourmalines, spinels, Kashmir sapphires and opals. The eighth-generation member of a jewelry-making family, Bohra says he travels the world for his inspiration and produces a very limited output of 200 to 250 pieces per year.
Celebrating their company history with anniversary collections were Yvel, New York, and Antonini, Milan. Yvel creates one-of-a-kind pieces using large South Sea and Tahitian pearls in combination with diamonds and gold. His well-received 25th anniversary collection featured large baroque South Sea pearls with 18-karat gold hand-applied to the pearls. In another look, cognac diamonds were used to accent champagne-colored pearls.
Antonini added some luscious amethyst/iolite/chalcedony and rhodochrosite/smoky quartz/white agate pieces to Porto Cervo, its newest collection, while at the same time taking reorders from its rose gold and champagne diamond anniversary collection, first introduced in 2009 to celebrate the company’s 90th year in business. Antonini’s highly popular Milano collection serves two audiences with differing color tastes: in Europe, it sells rose gold; in the U.S., white.
White and colored diamonds continue to be important elements with designers at Couture. Todd Reed, Boulder, Colorado, known for his creative mixtures of natural-color raw diamonds, showed a dramatic cuff bracelet with patinaed sterling silver and 18-karat gold with rose-cut colored diamonds and brilliant white diamonds.
Etienne Perret, Camden, Maine, exhibiting for the first time, introduced a collection of colored ceramic rings and bracelets accented with diamonds. The rings, ranging from a couple of millimeters to almost a half-inch in width, are accented with diamonds, usually VS clarity and G color. One bold, tapered black ceramic ring
featured a revolving band of yellow diamonds.
Among the popular colors for diamonds, pearls and gemstones were shades in the brown/cognac/champagne family and all things gold. Bolder silhouettes, such as dangling tassel earrings and large gemstone collars, also made an appearance, after years of smaller, more delicate silhouettes. Large rings and cuff bracelets were also back on the menu, in silver, gold and encrusted with diamond pavé.
Illustrating the growing trend of jewelry to benefit a cause was the PeaceLove Studios Collection of watches from ViewPoint, New York. Part of the company’s Fruitz timepiece collection, the PeaceLove series features original dials created by students in an art therapy program. A portion of the sales from the watches goes to benefit the Providence, Rhode Island–based studios, which provide victims of mental illness access to mental health resources. According to company representatives, the watches have been highly popular among independent jewelers who want an alternative product to the standard watch brands.
