Faves from Las Vegas jewelry week!

This year, I spent much of Las Vegas jewelry week discovering new Italian designers, but I still found time to scope out everything else that was going on, from the trendy Couture show to the glittering jewel parade of JCK to the delicious treasure trove of the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch show.

Las Vegas jewelry week, as you know if you’ve been with me for a while, is the glorious, glittering summer jewelry trade show bonanza when the biggest names in the industry all come to Sin City to do business and move jewels. Designers offering their latest wares, stores refreshing their stocks…and me in the middle of it, running around and seeing everything there is to see. It’s closed to the public, but it’s my honor to attend as press to share it with you.

I took about 4,000 photos and videos during Las Vegas jewelry week, so there’s more to come – but I wanted to take a minute to show you a few of the pieces that rocked my world.

I thought I’d start things out strong!!

This glorious buffet of beauty is Suzanne Kalan’s 14K gold collection, Kalan 14. If you love Suzanne Kalan’s designs but you want a bit more flexibility in price point, the 14K line is the perfect place to look. They start under $500 and they’re utterly gorgeous.

And speaking of utterly gorgeous…this pear-cut droplet of perfection is probably the most beautiful diamond I’ve ever touched in my life. It’s antique, from around the turn of the century.

Rebecca at Fred Leighton was kind enough to let me sit on the couch in their salon for some time so that I could gently stroke this diamond like a child besotted with a hamster. I’d still be doing it now, a month later, if Las Vegas jewelry week hadn’t ended.

That lovely diamond chain isn’t original to the piece, but it’s looks pretty spectacular paired with that pear, don’t you think?

These beauties are by Nikos Koulis, who is one of my very favorite high end contemporary jewelry designers. I love Las Vegas jewelry week because it brings so many big names to one place!

Just look at these earrings: they’re utterly perfect. Everything  love about Art Deco jewelry pared down and transformed through an edgy modern perspective. The dramatic colors, the perfect hint of movement…I could stare at these all day.

I didn’t have much time to spend at the Las Vegas Jewelry & Watch Show this year, but I still made time to stop by!!

I may have spent most of that time frolicking around in a tiara and catching up with friends who live far away…but I’m pretty satisfied with that use of time.

The tiara is from Ishy Antiques, who is the handsome gentleman posing with me) and that’s Carey of Cassidy Vintage in the other picture.

I still found time to discover these antique navette rings from MaryAnntiques!

Aren’t they killer? I love how a navette ring looks on the finger. The effect is so glamorous and elegant.

From antique to ultra-modern, here is an incredible pair of gemstone and diamond earrings by Alessio Boschi! Forgive the slight blurriness of the photo; I couldn’t get them to stay still, but I wanted to show them to you anyway.

Not only are they gorgeous, they’re also extremely smart: what you see here also converts into two necklace pendants and a completely different pair of earrings.

How about this necklace from Kothari Design?

This technique of inlaying hardstone with strategically placed diamonds is a signature technique for the designer, but suspending the accented agate from a web of diamond-strewn golden strands takes the effect to a whole new level. This kind of organic but glamorous effect is difficult to achieve and it’s so compelling when it’s as successful as it is here.

I’ve been tangentially aware of M. Spalten’s work for a while, but this year’s Las Vegas jewelry week was the first time I had the pleasure of meeting the designer, Melissa, and seeing her work in person. I have to say, I was impressed.

M. Spalten is rocking interesting stones used in interesting ways for an effect that carries heavy doses of both glamour and fun. Just look at these rings – any one of these stones is compelling enough to stand alone, but here in context M. Spalten uses shape and color to play up the contrast of the material with the world around it.

I think they look like beautiful explosions! I’m into it.

And now for something completely different…how absolutely delightful is this carved gemstone hedgehog charm by Loren Nicole jewelry??

I Instagrammed this little guy within seconds of meeting him at Las Vegas jewelry week and he was instantly a star. He even attracted the attention of my very favorite Instafamous hedgehog, Lionel (hedgehogs are really adorable and I follow a lot of them on Instagram).

These stunners are from recently resurrected brand Marina B!

I was only able to visit their booth briefly, but holy moly do the have some incredible designs. These earrings were actually one of the tamer, more wearable pieces. And,  for the record, I would wear these anywhere, anytime.

More M. Spalten rings!!

Vivid, irresistible hues and dramatic shapes. The fringey bits made my fingers feel like they were belly-dancing.

Last year for Vegas Jewelry week I made far too many appointments: I was hurried and stressed had little time to wander and discover. This year, I intentionally made my appointments few and far between so that I had plenty of free time to find new designers.

This bracelet by French designer, Marie Mas, was not a random discovery. I wanted to see Marie Mas so badly that I scheduled an appointment with her for the first hour of the first day of Las Vegas Jewelry week. And I was right to do so – her pieces are incredible and truly innovative, I’ve never seen anything like them before.

Can you tell that every gem in this bracelet is set so that it rotates individually? The effect when worn is an wreath of gently shifting color and light orbiting your wrist. It made me feel like a glamorous space princess.

From future inspiration to past inspiration – I found myself totally floored by the plique-a-jour enamel wings of this Lord Jewelry ring! This designer is one of the few who demonstrates true mastery of this delicate technique that is most often seen in fine Art Nouveau era jewelry.

It was impossible to show you every beautiful angle of this colorful creature in one photo, so I’ll just have to tell you that the colors of the wings are translucent (that’s the beauty of plique-a-jour) and the insect’s body is beautifully patterned underneath its wings.

Fun fact: every meeting I’ve had with Lord Jewelry has started with me running into Lena, the designer’s daughter, in the bathroom and admiring the jewelry she’s wearing. The Ladies room is a happening place at Las Vegas Jewelry Week! Also, I am easily distracted by shiny things and friendly people.

Speaking of shiny things and nice people…I was delighted to be able to have a leisurely visit with Karma El Khalil at Vegas Jewelry Week this year.

Karma is one of my very favorite people to visit at trade shows (or really anytime I get a chance) because she has such a rich, grounded energy: I dare you to listen to her talk about her work for 5 minutes without becoming desperate to own one of her designs.

Every piece is the result of fluid artistic inspiration and razor sharp intellect and the effect is astounding. These hoop earrings are the perfect example: the precisely shaped, carefully spaced lines occupy the space around the body in a subtle but fascinating way. I’m holding two pairs here, the octagonal and the round. Such a great interpretation of a classic staple.

Something sparkly to end on! This is a super sexy navette-shaped diamond ring from Rahaminov Diamonds. (See a video here.)

I think that’s enough Vegas jewelry week excitement for one day! I have more to share but I don’t want to overwhelm you….so please click here for PART 2!

Pssst….have you entered my GiGi Ferranti giveaway yet?? You could win free jewelry!