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Oscar Heyman jewels at JCK Privé NY.

Today I’m going to share with you the last photos I have from JCK Privé NY – the fabulous Oscar Heyman jewels that I was lucky enough to get to try on.

If you’re seriously into jewelry, your ears perked up at the name of Heyman. Oscar Heyman & Brothers have legendary status as a “Jeweler’s jeweler,” known for producing high quality fine jewelry for the likes of Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, J.E. Caldwell, and Shreve, Crump & Low. When Cartier was asked to produce a setting for the Taylor-Burton diamond, they turned to Oscar Heyman and Brothers. You can imagine my excitement when I turned a corner at JCK Privé NY and saw a booth full of Oscar Heyman jewels sparkling at me.

A hand full of Oscar Heyman; two diamond and gemstone pansy rings, one diamond engagement ring and one emerald and diamond ring. Via Diamonds in the Library.

Tom Heyman – who kindly showed me around the booth’s Oscar Heyman jewels that day – told me that I had half a million dollars worth of jewelry on my hand before he added the diamond ring you see in this picture.

Diamond and yellow diamond engagement ring by Oscar Heyman. Via Diamonds in the Library.

I don’t think I took a single bad picture of this yellow diamond and diamond ring. It was basically mugging for the camera. I hope it finds a good home.

Gorgeous cat’s eye chrysoberyl and diamond bracelet by Oscar Heyman. Via Diamonds in the Library.

At the Oscar Heyman booth, I was stuck again and again by the incredible beauty of the stones used to make the jewelery that I was admiring. Each piece had very clearly been crafted in order to best showcase the raw materials (and with great success). It was particularly evident with the incredible cat’s eye stones that I saw in several pieces, like this cat’s eye chrysoberyl and diamond bracelet.

An opal, sapphire, and diamond ring by Oscar Heyman. Via Diamonds in the Library.

Have I mentioned recently how glad I am that I started this blog? I never imagined that it would lead me into as many incredible experiences as it has. For an example, please see the opal, sapphire, and diamond ring above.

Magnificent emerald and diamond ring by Oscar Heyman. Via Diamonds in the Library.

This emerald and diamond ring is probably the most magical thing I’ve ever had in my hand. I say that DESPITE all of the other mind-blowing jewelery you’ve seen me try on. This one is in my top 5 of all time, no question. Because: look at it. Holy moly.

Vintage gemstone and diamond brooch by Oscar Heyman. Via Diamonds in the Library.

How fun is this retro swoop brooch? “Swoop” being the sound I think it makes, rather than any official name. It’s an estate piece; Oscar Heyman & Brothers was founded in 1912.

Star sapphire and diamond ring by Oscar Heyman. This ring is convertible; it can also be a necklace pendant. Via Diamonds in the Library.

This ring is even better than it appears at first glance, if you can believe it. Thanks to an ingeniously designed mechanism on the back, it snaps off of the ring mounting and can transform into a pendant on a matching necklace. I wasn’t able to to get a decent photo of the necklace or the mechanism, but please trust me that both were very cool.

This Oscar Heyman diamond and yellow diamond bracelet is in the design stage. The stones are laid out on the foam in the same pattern they will eventually be set in on the final bracelet. Via Diamonds in the Library.

One of my favorite parts of the visit was getting to see this: a draft of a diamond and yellow diamond bracelet. The stones are arranged on this foam in a rough form of how they’re going to be in the final piece.

This Oscar Heyman diamond and yellow diamond necklace is in an early stage of construction. The stones are placed in hard wax so that the jeweler may build the piece around them.

This is the second stage (and the necklace that’s going to match the bracelet!) Here, the stones are set into a hard wax. From this point, Tom said, it’s about 6 months more work until the piece will be complete.

Sapphire and diamond moi et toi crossover ring by Oscar Heyman. Via Diamonds in the Library.

Tom took a turn being the hand model when we got to this sapphire and diamond moi et toi crossover ring. It did look fabulous on him.

A million and one thanks to the wonderful Tom Heyman, who spent quite a chunk of time letting me photograph the jewels in his booth one by one. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Additional thanks to Lang’s AJU for being as informative as always.

If you’d like to revisit the rest of the pretties I’ve shown you from JCK Privé NY, please click here for the Editor’s Preview recap or here for the Mimi So reap.

Throwback Thursday: Margherita Burgener floral brooch.

Good morning, darlings.

We’ve seen so many pretties together that it’s getting hard to remember them all. It’s for that reason that I’ve decided to add a new feature! Every other week we’ll have a “Throwback Thursday” post to revisit a past piece of gorgeous jewelry. Let me know if you have any requests!

Titanium and diamond flower pendant-brooch by Margherita Burgener. Via Diamonds in the Library.

Remember this fabulous Margherita Burgener floral brooch in titanium and diamonds? I certaintly do. This was one of the first pieces I posted and I still find the colors and lines of the piece utterly bewitching. It has a playful but equisitely beautiful feel, sort of like it’s a Dr. Suess flower transformed into something precious.

I’d want to wear it on the lapel of a fabulous coat like this lovely pink Simone Rocha. How would you style it?

 

Three Art Deco emerald and diamond pieces.

Art Deco pretties with diamonds and emeralds! I don’t need to tell you how utterly these three are my cup of tea.

Art Deco emerald and diamond brooch, circa 1930's. Via Diamonds in the Library.
This fabulous feast for the eyes dates to the 1930’s. Designed as an openwork geometric plaque set with circular, single-cut, and baguette diamonds, this brooch also suspends three marquise-shaped emerald and diamond drops. I think it is a marvelous example of clean but bewitching Art Deco emerald and diamond perfection, with its clean lines, restrained color scheme, and ration of positive to negative space.

Art Deco emerald and diamond ring, circa 1910. The center diamond - a circular cut stone of 2.07 carats.
Jewel #2 today is this fabulous Art Deco emerald and diamond ring. It’s not the first we’ve seen along these lines and it won’t be the last, given that this is my blog and I love this kind of thing.

The ring predates the brooch; it was made in 1910. The center diamond – a circular cut stone of 2.07 carats –  is set within a millegrain surround of circular and single cut rose diamonds and accented by emerald details.

 Art Deco emerald and diamond earrings by Cartier, circa 1935. Each earring is hung with a polished emerald within an open diamond-set frame.

These Art Deco emerald and diamond geometric earrings are the work of the ever marvelous Cartier. They’re contemporaries of the brooch, circa 1935. Each earring is hung with a polished emerald within an open diamond-set frame. The frames are each divided by a line of baguette diamonds and with fancy kite shaped diamond, from diamond set circle-and-dot tops, millegrain set.

I love the contrast of hard and soft here, with the straight lines of the frames, the liquidey emerald drops, and the perfectly round surmounts.

Please see the individual descriptions of each Art Deco emerald and diamond piece for source links. All image and info in this post are thanks to the original poster of each item.

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