Pearls, pearls, pearls

At the JANY show, I looked at jewelry and also shopped for supplies: chain in sterling silver and vermeil, pearls in pink and mauve, petal pearls in a golden champagne hue, and mixed strands of nuggets with rose quartz, blue lace agate, chalcedony, and citrine. When I was visiting Lucky Gems, one of the salesmen gave me an orange and said, “Free gift!” It was one of the best free gifts I’ve ever gotten. He must’ve known I don’t eat enough fruit.

Even though I wanted to break the habit of buying a piece of jewelry at every show, I caved when I spotted a white coin-pearl ring from Rene Escobar. It’s a standout piece in his collection, with a nickel-sized coin pearl set in sterling silver dotted with amethysts. What I love about it is that it’s not dainty, it’s very “Bam!” I’ve never seen anything like it, and I’ve seen a lot (when it comes to jewelry). I have to admit, I prefer to buy from designers who take the time to talk about their jewelry.

Speaking of… I said hi to Ray Griffiths, whose rings I try on every year. Ray continues to add beautiful pieces (including a tiara) to his collection, but I keep trying on similar versions of the ring I bought a couple of years ago. My newest object of desire: an 18-karat yellow gold ring with a square white topaz. I wear round (or round-edged) shapes in rings, but I just loved this stone, with its severe corners. Bam! again. Also noteworthy: Ray is going green by giving out Post-It pads with images of his work printed on them. Clever marketing, and now I can think of him every day.

Finally, here I am holding a 16-inch strand of 16–19mm graduated South Sea pearls, for sale by a vendor from Hong Kong who graciously snapped the photo. The wholesale cost: $32,000. A few booths away, I found a vendor who sold 20mm shell pearls — uniform in shape and color — for $26.50. But I didn’t buy them. Sometimes it's hard to scale back when you see the top-of-the-line strand first. I also passed on earth-friendly shell pearls in coral and peach shades that looked like the real thing. Maybe I should branch out (bad coral pun intended) to designing with orange hues?

The show is always fun and exhausting, and this year was no different. If you get a chance to go, you should: it’s a way to see a staggering amount of jewelry in one place. And, you get the chance to talk to artists and their reps about their newest and most popular collections!